June, 29th 2004
Wimbledon
Nadia Petrova may not be the best known of the Russian
contingent which dominated the initial ladies field, but as the 10th seed
she reached her allotted place in the draw, which is more than can be said
for some of her better known compatriots.
She certainly is a gutsy competitor, resilient and difficult to beat, as she
showed today by keeping the more fancied Jennifer Capriati on court for
84-minutes before conceding her fourth round match 6-4, 6-4.
Scoreline looks like a comfortable victory for the 7th seeded American, it
wasn't the case. Petrova fought her corner to great effect, usually emerging
the winner when the two engaged in long exchanges from the baseline.
In view of that, it isn't surprising to learn that Petrova had beaten
Capriati when they last met, on the clay of Paris. However, for that victory,
the Russian 21 year-old required three sets, and her clay court game didn't
prove as useful on this occasion.
Capriati, playing her 11th Championships, is an experienced grass court
gladiator. Her powerful forehand maintained the pressure on Petrova and it
wasn't long before the Russian was having to fight off a barrage of them, as
Capriati struck the first blow in the fifth game.
Six times Petrova fended off break points, before netting a forehand after a
lengthy exchange which kept her on the defensive. It was one of the few
occasions that she didn't emerge the winner following such an exchange.
Two games later she again felt the full power of the Capriati game, this
time successfully holding her serve from 0-40 down with some excellent play,
working her way into the net and, on the 21st stroke of the rally, putting
away a delightful backhand volley winner.
She also broke
Capriati to level the score at 4-all by forcing the pace and pushing the
American, a former Wimbledon semi-finalist, into a couple of backhand errors
for the game.
However, her spirited comeback was short-lived as Capriati regained the
initiative and then confidently served out for the set, breaking Petrova
with a wrong-footing forehand in the opening game of the second - a break
she held on to complete her victory 39 minutes later.
It was another competent performance by Capriati, but she will have to raise
her game severel levels for her quarter-final meeting with Serena Williams powerhouse.
|
.gif){kind=small}