The second round action at the Australian Open saw qualifier Natalia Vikhlyantseva face 24th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Show Court 2. Both Russians won their first round match in straight sets as Vikhlyantseva defeated Vania King and Pavlyuchenkova defeated yet another Russian in Evgeniya Rodina. The higher-ranked player definitely enters the match as the big favourite, and she affirmed her status in the world’s top 30 as she strolled to a straight sets victory after just 77 minutes.

Pavlyuchenkova in action at Melbourne | Photo: Pat Scala/Getty Images AsiaPac
Pavlyuchenkova in action at Melbourne | Photo: Pat Scala/Getty Images AsiaPac

Pavlyuchenkova strolls to first set victory

Vikhlyantseva had a slow start to the match as she had to save two break points in the opening game of the match to hold serve and prevent herself from lagging behind an early deficit in the match. Pavlyuchenkova then had a very comfortable hold of service as she hit three winners in the process to hold her opening service game of the match, looking like she was in great form. Vikhlyantseva then held her serve once more, but this time it was a much more comfortable hold of serve as her strong serves were able to overpower the more experienced Russian. Pavlyuchenkova then made the first breakthrough of the match as she broke serve in the fifth game of the match with some excellent aggressive tennis which eventually managed to break down Vikhlyantseva’s serves.

Natalia Vikhlyantseva in action at the 2014 US Open | Photo: Elsa/Getty Images North America
Natalia Vikhlyantseva in action at the 2014 US Open | Photo: Elsa/Getty Images North America

Another strong service game saw Pavlyuchenkova consolidate the break of service to affirm the hard-fought lead and looked like she was going to be able to close out the set. Pavlyuchenkova earned another break of service to put herself just one game away from winning the first set and gave herself a chance to serve it out. The former top 20 player did just so, as she was able to successfully serve out the set after just 31 minutes.

Pavlyuchenkova completes the match in straight sets | Photo: Pat Scala/Getty Images AsiaPac
Pavlyuchenkova completes the match in straight sets | Photo: Pat Scala/Getty Images AsiaPac

Pavlyuchenkova closes out the match

Vikhlyantseva had a great start to the second set as she earned her first service break of the match after she went up at 2-0 lead within a blink of an eye. Just when most thought that Vikhlyantseva was able to consolidate the break of service when she had a game point, Pavlyuchenkova broke back immediately to return the second set level on serve and prevent Vikhlyantseva from extending her lead. Pavlyuchenkova almost gave the break away once again as she conceded two break point opportunities to her younger compatriot. However, Pavlyuchenkova eventually held her serve to be level in the scoreboard. Vikhlyantseva would rue the missed opportunity as she was broken immediately in the next game as Pavlyuchenkova took the lead for the first time in the second set.

Pavlyuchenkova looks in great form this week | Photo: Pat Scala/Getty Images AsiaPac
Pavlyuchenkova looks in great form this week | Photo: Pat Scala/Getty Images AsiaPac

Unlike the 19-year-old, the 25-year-old managed to consolidate the break of service and look to close out the match soon. With the momentum running in her, Pavlyuchenkova broke once more to lead 5-2 and have the chance to serve out the match. Similar to the first set, Pavlyuchenkova successfully served out the match but she faced more problems this time as she had to save three break points in the 10 minutes game to clinch the match in straight sets.

Next up for Pavlyuchenkova

It would be a tough opponent next up for Pavlyuchenkova as she would next face Elina Svitolina in the third round. Svitolina has been in great form in 2017, and would definitely enter the match as the favourite as she is the higher-ranked player and is one of the dark horses for the title.

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About the author
Don Han
Don Han is a young tennis writer who aspires to be a full-time sports journalist in the future, supporting Russian players along the way.