Barbora Strycova crafted her way past the powerful Lucie Safarova in the second round of the ASB Classic. Strycova needed two hours and 49 minutes to advance into her second career quarterfinal in Auckland.
Strycova steals lengthy opener
Strycova and Safarova arrived to Centre Court on Wednesday to contest in their fourth career meeting in the second round of the ASB Classic. The match started with a Strycova hold, followed by a lengthy hold from her fellow countrywoman to commence the match on serve. The match remained on serve, but Strycova was given a chance to take an early break lead. The Safarova serve, however, stayed steady, denying the fourth seed of a break. Both players seemed as if they played their best tennis while serving, in spite of them both having a strong return game.
The opening set's pattern continued through the eleventh game. Strycova may have felt as if she missed a major opportunity with not being able to convert her first set point as she was up 5-4. Soon after, she bounced back confidently and held commandingly to love. Safarova was forced to serve to stay alive in the opener, yet again. This time, the lefty could not get the job done, handing Strycova the set, seven games to five, in just under an hour.
Safarova dictates most parts of second set
Safarova was determined to avoid a similar scoreline as the first set. She started with a break to 30 before consolidating, steadily gaining momentum against her doubles partner this week. The next two games followed the same path, leaving the fourth-seeded Strycova at a lack of answers for her countrywoman's tennis. Although, the set's momentum shifted ever so slightly in the favor of the world number 20. Strycova crawled her way back into the set from 4-0 down, applying pressure to the Safarova game.
Strycova pulled together three consecutive games in rather comfortable fashion. However, Safarova denied her opponent of a second set comeback in winning the eighth game of the set. With her hold, the lefty put herself 5-3 up in the set. Safarova was within one game of pushing her second round match to a third and final set. From 30-0 down on her return, she fought back, earning her first set point. Though, it took two set point chances for her to clinch the 6-3 victory which concluded the near 40-minute second set.
Fourth seed clutches thriller out
The final set commenced with four consecutive holds to start. This time it was Strycova who clinched the early break, giving her a 3-2 lead in the decider. The four seed continued her momentum into the deep stages of the second round match. In spite of having three break points in the following game, Safarova could not convert, putting Strycova 4-2 ahead. The pressure was quickly shifted back onto Strycova's side of the court, as the lefty held to stay within reach of her doubles partner.
The world number 20 had an opportunity to take a 5-3 advantage in the third set, but despite brilliant shot making, she came up short. Safarova's break for 4-4 sparked a little frustration for the four seed as she launched a ball into the crowd to receive a code violation warning. The pair then exchanged clutch holds before exchanging breaks to bring the match to a nerve-racking final set tiebreak. The tiebreak started in the liking of the lefty, but in the end, Strycova was too solid from all parts of the court. The fourth seed denied Safarova of an upset in phenomenal style after nearly three hours on court with a score of 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(4).
Strycova sets up quarterfinal with Davis
The Czech's victory booked her a match against the American Lauren Davis in the quarterfinals. It's the pair's first career meeting. Both players are in solid form, and they both rely on their speed and consistency to get them through matches which makes for an enticing ASB Classic quarterfinal.
