Agnieszka Radwanska’s Moving On Up—Nathan’s Notice

Written by: Staff on 25th February 2012

Agnieszka Radwanska’s Moving On Up—Nathan’s Notice |

By: Nathan M. Cuny

Women’s No.6 Agnieszka Radwanska made a big comeback on Saturday the 25^th when she won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. She defeated the unseeded No.19 player Julia Goerges, 7-5, 6-4. The Dubai title became Radwanska’s eighth WTA win, and her fifth Premier level title. In 2011 she won in Carlsbad, Tokyo, and Beijing. So far this year Radwanska reached the semifinals at Sydney where she lost to Victoria Azarenka, and to the Australian Open quarterfinals where she lost again to Ms. Azarenka. By winning the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Radwanska claimed her first title of 2012.

Winning the title wasn’t easy. She started the tournament on a rough patch but little by little fought through. Seeded fifth in the tournament she was worn down after two especially difficult matches. In the first draw of the tournament Radwanska fought her way from 5-3 down in the third set to defeat Aleksandra Wozniak. In the semifinals Radwanska was pitched against eighth seed Jelena Jankovic, where she lost the second set but bounced back, taking the win.

Radwanska defeated Julia Goerges very recently at the Australian Open. Goerges kept Radwanska’s style in mind this time around, playing her much closer. Regarding the match, Radwanska commented, “I was pretty close to losing in the first round, so I’m extremely happy right now. Tonight I think I was just better in a couple points, to be honest. In the important moments I was more consistent. The conditions were a little bit difficult during the match, but I stayed calm until the end. Julia’s forehand is a very big weapon. It’s just going so fast, and sometimes I’d be moving to it right away and the ball was already behind me.”

Radwanska took the lead in the first game of the match at 4-2. Goerges kept the match at five –all until Radwanska proceeded to take the set in a five-deuce game. The second set moved in similar format with Radwanska breaking early and Goerges holding all the way until Radwanska hit her final shot taking the second set 6-4. Following the match Goerges said, “Agnieszka’s a tough player and I was close to winning both sets. There were a few balls I missed, but it was still the way I should play it. You need to dictate the game by yourself and that’s what I did. It wasn’t enough today but it was still the right direction for my game. She doesn’t give you anything. She doesn’t do any mistakes at all. And when she does a few, it’s at 15-all or 15-0, not in the important moments.”

Radwanska is now 8-2 in finals for her career and just might move to the No.5 spot, a new career high for her. The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships are not over, with the men’s players journeying in. The play for the men begins on Monday the 27^th and you’ll see Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray finally making an appearance in this month.

Topics: Agnieszka Radwanska, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships