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Fitzpatrick Falls to MCTA Hopeful
It was a week of
mixed emotions at the ₤10,000 ITF
tournament in Sunderland, as Anna
Fitzpatrick reached the second round
before losing to No. 6 seed and
potential MCTA recruit Ana
Veselinovic of Serbia & Montenegro.
Veselinovic, who
is training with the Academy for the
next five weeks with a view to
becoming the fourth full-time
member, then teamed with Anna to
reach the quarterfinals of the
doubles competition before the two
went down against top seeds Olga
Kapshay and Veronika Panova in three
sets.
Anna began the
week brightly, recording an
impressive 6-2, 7-5 victory over
Martina Babkova in the first round
of the singles. Playing aggressively
throughout, Anna attacked Babkova’s
second serves and hit back from 5-3
down in the second set, winning
eight consecutive points to lead 6-5
before booking her place in the next
round.
Against
Veselinovic, who overcame Britain’s
Nikki Prosser in the first round, it
was close in the opening exchanges
as both players held serve for 2-2.
A controversial call by the umpire
to overrule what Anna thought was an
ace at deuce gave Veselinovic a
chance, and two forehand winners
helped seal the crucial break for
the left-hander.
In the second
set, Anna came back from 4-1 and two
breaks down to level, but
Veselinovic broke for the third time
in the set before sealing her place
in the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-4
victory.
Despite the loss,
Anna was pleased with her
performances. “In the first round, I
stayed relaxed but kept my intensity
levels high throughout the match,”
said Anna. “Against Veselinovic,
there were
just a few
unforced errors to clean up but the
more I present opportunities for
myself then that will improve. I’m
also pleased with how I fought back
from 1-4, and how I dealt with her
serve.”
In the doubles,
Anna and Veselinovic enjoyed a
routine 6-2, 6-3 win over British
duo Deborah Armstrong and Jessica
Jackson in the first round but found
top seeds
Kapshay and
Panova a tougher prospect in the
quarterfinals. Anna and Veselinovic
took the first set before going down
3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
“The first few
games of the second set, we missed
chances to break,” said Anna. “If we
had broken them, I think the match
would have been ours comfortably in
two sets.”
Meanwhile,
Veselinovic’s run in the singles
came to end after a hard-fought
three set loss to No. 2 seed Carla
Suarez-Navarro. The Spaniard won
1-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) to reach the
semifinals.
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