This quarterfinal match of the Sydney International between Agnieszka Radwanska and Duan Yingying was a repeat of the first round match at the Shenzhen Open last week where the Pole prevailed in a three-set thriller after saving three match points in the process to prevent the Chinese from creating the massive upset. It looked to be going to be another thrilling match as Duan looked to be on great form in her previous match against Coco Vandeweghe where she created a big upset by triumphing in straight sets. However, the match turned out to be unable to live up to its hype as Radwanska won in straight sets after Duan made a string of unforced errors which was mainly the reason that caused her to be on the losing end.
Radwanska recovers from early break
Duan looked like she was on for another chance of an upset when she came up with some excellent ball-striking skills to break Radwanska’s serve in the opening game of the match. However, Radwanska broke back immediately to prevent Duan from consolidating the break of service to level the scores as Duan failed to utilize her strong game to go against Radwanska’s defense. Duan had the chance to regain the lead as she earned two break points in the following game but wasted both opportunities to hand Radwanska the first hold of the match. Duan would rue the missed chance as she was broken once again to allow Radwanska to take the lead for the first time.
The Pole’s celebrations were short-lived though as the “Chinese Davenport” broke for the second time in the set to return back on serve and prevent Radwanska from running away with the first set. Radwanska almost took the lead again but wasted two break point opportunities as Duan held her nerves to hold serve. It was smooth sailing for the world number three from then on as she won three consecutive games to clinch the first set 6-3 after 43 minutes after she broke for the third time in the set.
Radwanska strolls to victory
The Pole looked to be the favourite for the victory especially with the momentum running in her after winning the first set and then jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the blink of an eye. Those four games were very tight as all of them went to 30-30 and Radwanska only won the points at the crucial moments. Had Duan took her chances well, it could have well easily been 4-0 to her advantage instead. Duan finally got herself onto the scoreboard in the second set after a very encouraging hold of service which saw the game get to 30-30 yet again. Radwanska was very solid on her serve as the match progressed as she held her last two service games to love after she successfully served out the match to love to earn her second victory over Duan in as many weeks. It was a very erratic match from Duan, whose powerful game often backfiring on her as she hit more than 30 unforced errors throughout the whole match, around 5 times as much as how many Radwanska made.
Radwanska proceeds to semifinal
With this win, Radwanska would now face against a very tricky opponent in Barbora Strycova after the Czech carved out a tough victory in over 3 hours and 30 minutes. Although she has a higher ranking than Strycova and has a perfect head-to-head record against her, Radwanska would still need to be wary of Strycova as she is definitely capable of an upset.
