Michaella Krajicek made it 10 wins in a row as she continued her impressive play with a three-set win over 20-year-old American Sachia Vickery on Thursday at the Red Rock Pro Open.
Krajicek was given a special exemption into the main draw of this week’s USTA Pro Circuit women’s $50,000 event after winning last week’s $75,000 Albuquerque, N.M., Pro Circuit tournament and missing out on the weekend qualifying in Las Vegas.
Krajicek, who had to win three qualifying matches to get into the New Mexico main draw, had to battle with a mid-afternoon wind and 98-degree heat to eliminate South Florida’s Vickery, the No. 4-seeded player, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3, at the Red Rock Country Club.
“It was tough conditions out there,” said Krajicek, a former Wimbledon quarterfinalist (2007) who had a career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 30 back in 2008. “Every match is getting tougher and I’m getting tired, but I’m hanging in there.”
Krajicek, from the Netherlands, will next move on to the quarterfinals where she’ll face No. 5-seeded Alexa Glatch. Both are 26-year-old blondes who are 1-1 against each other during their pro careers, which started for both in the mid-teens. Krajicek won a WTA matchup in Carson, Calif., in 2009 and Glatch beat her in Memphis in 2011. Both matches went three sets.
Krajicek couldn’t confirm the 10 straight wins when asked how many in a row she had won. “I don’t know,” she said. “I lost count. Now it’s about one match at a time and it’s more physical than anything else.”
Glatch wasn’t the only seeded American to make the quarterfinals as No. 2 Anna Tatishvili, No. 6 Nicole Gibbs and No. 7 Shelby Rogers each moved on. Rogers will meet Tatishvili in one quarterfinal, while Gibbs will face unseeded Mandy Minella of Luxembourg in another. Both Rogers and Tatishvili beat fellow Americans with Rogers taking out former U.S. Open Junior Girls’ champ Samantha Crawford, 7-5, 6-4, and Tatishvili needing three sets to come back and beat Julia Bosserup, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Thursday’s Second-Round Singles Results
wild card [wc]; qualifying: [q]
Alexa Glatch, U.S. [5] def. Ana Vrljic, Croatia, 6-3, ret.
Romina Oprandi, Switzerland [3] def. Jovana Jaksic, Serbia, 6-0, 6-1
Michaella Krajicek, Netherlands, def. Sachia Vickery, U.S. [4], 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3
Mandy Minella, Luxembourg, def. Lauren Albanese, U.S. [wc], 6-4, 6-2
Jennifer Brady, U.S., def. Tamira Paszek, Austria, 6-3, 6-3
Nicole Gibbs, U.S. [6] def. Sanaz Marand, U.S., 6-3, 6-1
Anna Tatishvili, U.S. [2] def. Julia Bosserup, U.S., 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
Shelby Rogers, U.S., [7] def. Samantha Crawford, U.S., 7-5, 6-4
Thursday’s Quarterfinal Doubles Results
Julia Boserup, U.S. / Nicole Gibbs, U.S., [wc] def. Mandy Minella, Luxembourg / Amra Sadikovic, Switzerland, 2-6, 6-4, 10-5
Paula Cristina Goncalves, Brazil / Sanaz Marad, U.S., [1] def. Lauren Albanese, U.S. / Sophie Chang, U.S., 6-3, 7-5
Robin Anderson, U.S. / Jen Brady, U.S., def. Tamira Paszek, Austria / Anna Tatishvili, U.S., 6-2, 7-6 (4)
Antonia Lottner, Germany, [3] / Pemra Ozgen, Turkey, def. Alexandra Facey, U.S. / Kat Facey, U.S., [wc], 6-1, 6-3
Friday’s Order Of Play
Stadium Court, Starting at 10:30 a.m.
Anna Tatishvili, U.S. [2] vs. Shelby Rogers, U.S., [7]
Followed by Michaella Krajicek, Netherlands, vs. Alexa Glatch, U.S. [5]
After rest: Paula Cristina Goncalves, Brazil / Sanaz Marad, U.S., [1] vs. Robin Anderson, U.S. / Jen Brady, U.S.
Not before 4 p.m.: Antonia Lottner, Germany, [3] / Pemra Ozgen, Turkey, vs. Julia Boserup, U.S. / Nicole Gibbs, U.S., [wc]
Court 6, Starting at 10:30 a.m.
Jennifer Brady, U.S., vs. Romina Oprandi, Switzerland [3]
Followed by Mandy Minella, Luxembourg, vs. Nicole Gibbs, U.S. [6]
Printable Draw
Order of Play: click here
The tournament’s official website is www.RedRockProOpen.com.
Topics: Ladies tennis, Michaella Krajicek, Red Rock Pro Open, Sachia Vickery, Tennis News
FORMER WIMBLEDON QUARTERFINALIST @MisaKrajicek EMMRICH WINS 10TH STRAIGHT MATCH TO ADVANCE AT @RedRockTennis http://t.co/Fcb4ZE4rP5 #tennis