Denisa Allertova shocked German Sabine Lisicki in second round action in Melbourne, winning 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. It was a hard fought battle for the Czech as she advanced to the third round of the Australian Open and will face Britain's Johanna Konta.
Allertova Wins First Set
On a packed Court 8, both players comfortably held their first service games. It didn’t last long as Allertova got a break point after Lisicki hit a forehand error at 30-all. The Czech wasn’t able to capitalize on that break point, as she hit a backhand error. Allertova would get another break point, but Lisicki erased it too and managed to win the game.
In the following game, it was the German’s turn to apply pressure as she got three break points. All of those came from errors made by the Czech. On the next point, Allertova managed to save one break point, but would hit a forehand in the succeeding point to give Lisicki the break. However, the Czech didn’t back down in the next game as she got the advantage and a break point at deuce, after Lisicki hit back-to-back double faults. Allertova got the break back after Lisicki hit a backhand unforced error to tie the set 3-3.
Lisicki didn’t make it easy for Allertova to hold serve. In the fourth deuce game, the Czech hit an ace to get the advantage and followed it with a great serve that Lisicki couldn’t handle to hold serve. In the next game, Allertova hit a backhand passing shot winner to get two break points. The Czech wasted them by hitting back to back errors. In the next point, Allertova got a hold of another break point as Lisicki netted a volley. The Czech converted the break point this time with the help of Lisicki’s forehand unforced error to go up 5-3.
Allertova didn’t have a hard time closing the set 6-3 in 34 minutes. Both players had almost identical first serve percentages and first serve won percentages. However, Allertova managed to win more second serves, 55 percent compared to Lisicki's 30 percent.
Lisicki Forces a Third Set
The 30th seeded German appeared unaffected by her first set loss, as she started the second set by breaking Allertova’s serve in the second game. Lisicki got a break point after Allertova hit a forehand error. The Czech wasn’t able to save the break, as she hit another error, this time on her backhand side to give Lisicki the early break. The German consolidated the break in the next game to go up 3-0.
Lisicki didn’t give Allertova any break point chances in the set. In the 8th game, the German got a set point after Allertova hit an unforced forehand error. After saving the point to force deuce, the Czech hit another forehand error to give Lisicki the advantage. Lisicki didn’t waste her second set point, converting it by hitting a forehand winner to win the second set 6-2 in 36 minutes.
Allertova saw a dip on her first serve percentage in the set, while Lisicki stayed the same. The Czech also saw a decrease in the points she won on second serve, while the German saw a big increase at 89 percent to be exact. Allertova also hit more unforced errors compared to the first set.
Allertova Wins Lengthy Game to Propel Her to Victory
Allertova didn't let the second set loss bother her, as she didn't waste any time putting the pressure on Lisicki during the first game. The Czech got two break points after Lisicki hit a double fault and an unforced forehand error. After saving the first break point, Lisicki would hit a backhand error to give the early break to Allertova. The Czech consolidated the break in the following game for a quick 2-0 advantage.
Up 3-1, Allertova got another pair of break points. However, Lisicki saved both of the break points with a pair of forehand winners. She managed to hold serve in the end. In the 8th game of the set, Lisicki got a break point after Allertova hit a forehand error. On the next point, the Czech hit another forehand error to give Lisicki the break back and tied the set 4-4.
At deuce in the 9th game, Allertova got a hold of a break point after Lisicki hit a backhand error. After a 25-shot rally, Lisicki managed to bring it back to deuce as Allertova dumped a forehand into the net. In the fifth deuce point, Allertova crafted her third break point with a huge forehand return winner. The Czech would get the break after hitting a backhand winner up the line. Allertova would close the set at 6-4 in 52 minutes to win the match and advance to the third round.