A blockbuster first round match at the rain-plagued Qatar Total Open saw qualifier Jelena Jankovic, a former world number one, face off against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a consistent figure in the top 30 of the rankings. Jankovic participated in the qualifying draws for the first time since 2004, and she successfully entered the main draw before drawing the toughest opponent possible for the qualifier spots, after being drawn against the Russian.
Pavlyuchenkova strolls to first set victory
Pavlyuchenkova suffered a nervy start to the match as she narrowly held her opening service game as she was taken to deuce by Jankovic, who started the match brightly. The following game saw Jankovic earn a comfortable hold of serve, looking very solid in the early stages. The Serbian’s momentum carried into the third game as she threatened to make the first breakthrough of the match after owning a break point opportunity. Despite making a ton of unforced errors, Pavlyuchenkova played her best tennis when it mattered the most as she hit a wonderfully-executed backhand winner to get back to deuce, eventually carving out another tough hold of service to remain on serve.
The tough service holds proved to be a source of confidence for the Russian as she made an unexpected breakthrough in the next game despite looking the second-best player on the court there, opening up a 3-1 lead. With the momentum running in her, Pavlyuchenkova affirmed her lead as she extended her lead to 4-1, looking to close out the first set as soon as possible. The first set slowly slipped out of Jankovic’s hands as she was broken yet again to gift Pavlyuchenkova a chance to serve out the set. The Russian did just so, successfully serving out the set comfortably after just 28 minutes after a slow start to the match.
Rain halts play for a couple of hours
The start of the second set saw Pavlyuchenkova jump out to a bright start as she earned a break point to have a chance and take the early advantage. However, the Russian missed the great opportunity to break serve as she netted a backhand to return to deuce. This was when the rain started to pour down on the courts as both players were escorted off the courts when the rain was too heavy for any play to occur. The rain delay lasted for around two hours, which gave both players the opportunities to communicate with their coach and think about what they have done wrong in the match, particularly for Jankovic. Play finally resumed after around two hours of delay, with the score at deuce, a very crucial point.
Unexpectedly, Jankovic was the one who made a slow start after the delay as she conceded yet another break point after they came back on the court. Holding her nerves, the former world number one eventually held her serve to prevent herself from falling behind early in the set. It was Pavlyuchenkova, who is known for her slow starts, who let her slow start affect her greatly as she soon fell 0-40 behind in the next game to allow Jankovic to have a big opportunity to break serve for the first time in the match.
Similar to Jankovic, Pavlyuchenkova maintained her composure to remain on serve. The pattern in the second set continued as another break point surfaced after Pavlyuchenkova came up with some good returns to have a chance to take the lead. The first game in the set without any break points finally came by as Pavlyuchenkova held her serve to 30 and started to look more solid on her groundstrokes as the match progressed.
For the first time in the second set, there was a service break as Pavlyuchenkova made the first breakthrough to lead by a set and a break, looking poised to close out the match in straight sets. Yet another lengthy rain delay came by as rain halted play for more than three hours this time, giving both players a chance to communicate with their coaches once again. Returning fresh after the break as it finally stopped raining cats and dogs, Pavlyuchenkova consolidated the break with a service hold, affirming her lead at 4-2.
The Russian looked to extend her lead when she was up 15-30 on Jankovic’s serve, looking on course for another break. Nevertheless, the veteran came up with some good tennis to hold her serve and prevent herself from falling too much in the scoreboard. With no breaks of serve after coming back from the second rain delay, Pavlyuchenkova eventually closed out the match in straight sets after around 90 minutes of play, which turned out to be the only completed match of the day as the rain gods decided to play some pranks in Doha.
Next up for Pavlyuchenkova
The Russian would now face the third seed Dominika Cibulkova in the second round of the competition, with the Slovakian being the heavy favourite for this match as she holds a positive head-to-head record against Pavlyuchenkova, and also the fact that she is higher-ranked.