Tatishvili Stuns Pironkova In Budapest Opener

Written by: Staff on 1st May 2012

Tatishvili Stuns Pironkova In Budapest Opener |

(Original Story: http://www.wtatennis.com/news/20120430/tatishvili-stuns-pironkova-in-budapest-opener_2256076_2755247)

Anna Tatishvili caused the first major upset of the Budapest Grand Prix on Monday when she came from a set down to defeat No.3 seed Tsvetana Pironkova in the first round.

Pironkova, the World No.43, was the highest-ranked player in action on Day 1 in Budapest and from the early exchanges she looked a class above Tatishvili, reeling off the first five games and wrapping up the opening set in under half an hour.

However, unperturbed by this shaky start, Tatishvili dug in at the start of the second set and was rewarded for her fighting spirit when she broke serve in the fourth game. This proved to be the turning point in the match, as the mercurial Georgian leveled the match before racing through the final set, dropping a solitary game in the process.

Tatishvili’s reward for her 16 63 61 win is a meeting Vanda Lukacs, who won the battle of the wildcards with fellow Hungarian Henrietta Habler, 62 61.

Another player to put paid to the hopes of a seed was Aleksandra Wozniak. After a difficult 2011, the Canadian has enjoyed an upturn in fortunes of late, and on Day 1 she notched up her 15th win in the last 20 matches when she defeated No.7 seed Shahar Peer, 64 63.

“It was a really good win for me today,” Wozniak said. “It’s a big change from the hard to the red clay so there are still some things I need to work on. I just need to keep being patient and try to play well on the important points.”

No.5 seed Marina Erakovic almost saw her name added to the list of first round upsets, toiling with Pauline Parmentier for almost three hours before finally triumphing, 76(3) 36 76(2). Other seeds to advance in the Hungarian capital were No.6 Petra Martic, who saw off local wildcard Csilla Borsanyi, 60 75, and No.4 Klara Zakopalova, a 76(3) 36 62 winner over Anne Keothavong.

“I’m very happy that I’m through as it was a very tough match,” Zakopalova said. “The conditions were really tough as it was so hot. I lost early in Fès so I’m happy to get some more matches on the clay here and I’m looking forward to the next round.”

Among those looking to join Zakopalova in the last 16 on Tuesday will be the top two seeds, Sara Errani and Ksenia Pervak, and the high-flying Hungarian teenager Timea Babos.

Topics: Anna Tatishvili, Budapest Grand Prix, Tsvetana Pironkova