Alexandrova drama to enter week two: Missed set and match points. Tursunov did not help either.
Sofia Kolodkina June 3, 2023, 19:59 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Ekaterina won four games in a row in the decisive match, but for the first time in her career she did not reach the fourth round of Roland Garros.
The big match in 1/8 – Rybakina vs. Aleksandrov – did not happen. An hour before their match, Elena withdrew, a viral illness having already knocked Auger-Aliassime down in the first round. The Canadian did not sleep the night, he spent it dealing with the heat.
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The representative from Kazakhstan also had similar symptoms. Before the fight, she still entered the court, but she realized that she couldn’t force a fight and decided not to even try. She also lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova, who fell to Brazil’s Haddad-Maya in nearly three hours, taking match point in the third installment.
Ekaterina Alexandrova
Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images
Ekaterina started the game with confidence – she took serve when Beatrice took it hard. The Brazilian started with a brace already, and an active backhand down the line and then an awkward reception on the next ball allowed Ekaterina to nail down the first break point of the match. And then she alone confirmed Alexandrov’s break: she from the very beginning she went to the net and hit the ball on the wire: 3: 0.
From the file, Alexandrova actively struck with a cross in the opposite direction, and closed the next play with a shortened one after a difficult serve in the middle. Beatriz continued to take the uncertainty, which allowed her to bring the fifth game to zero – 4:1. And then some excellent tricks with Haddad-Mayi’s serve, double and not always accurate kicks under the back made it possible to gain a decent lead in two break games – 5: 1.
Beatrice Haddad-Maya
Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images
Alexandrova also started with two double faults, 0:30 caught on fire at the start. And a backhand error allowed Haddad-Maya to pick up her first break points, and three at once! Receiving directly from the backhand, the Brazilian closed the not very aggressive second serve, as well as the game – 2:5.
At the end of the game, Beatrice began to return to the match – tricks were obtained, a backhand along the line, and Alexandrova’s forehands no longer flew at speed. Having a psychological advantage, the Brazilian again made a reverse break: 4:5.
With the first drop of the match, Haddad-Maya took the fourth game in a row: as if there was no 5:1 in favor of Ekaterina. The end of the set turned out to be as illogical as possible: the Russian opponent, apparently exhaling after crazy breaks, made two mistakes to the left and left the game – 7:5.
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Ya Haddad-Maya began the second set with an opening break. But Beatrice’s errors in length and a successful game at the net made it possible for Ekaterina to count on a back break. In the fifth game, she used the opportunity to break away: she hit forehand with a cross, and Katya allowed a double and made a mistake in a long exchange, and 3: 2. Then Haddad confirmed the break and took the lead-4. : 2.
In the eighth game, Katya’s chances for another return arose: a sliced-under backhand backhand, backed by an active forehand on decisive balls. And then Katya played very well at the reception, preparing the start on the grid – 4:4. But Alexandrova did not have enough for two games in a row: a break for Beatrice and a chance to serve for the second game.
As a result, an error in the reception and the length of the backhand, and then an execution to the left along the line by Katya gave the Brazilian a game and a set – 6:4.
The third set duplicated the scenario of the second: and from the second break point, Beatrice converted a break: Ekaterina let out a small length during a baseline shootout.
Psychological confidence added to an incredible game, where Haddad-Maya started from 0-40 and took five draws in a row, and then almost made a break – Alexandrova still recovered on her own and did not allow the lead to increase – 1: 2.
And if Beatrice confidently took the next serve again, Aleksandrova experienced problems: first she made a mistake on the wide forehand at the score of 30-15, and then made a double at the wrong time, and 30-40. From the second break point and after Katya’s mistake with a forehand cross, the Brazilian took the game and came closer to winning the match – 4:1. But Ekaterina succeeded in a mini comeback – she reduced the gap from 1: 4 to 3: 4. A series of Brazilian errors in length helped bring the set to equality. It didn’t work out for her and her output to the net: Beatrice let the ball into the hall wide.
The end of the match turned out to be one of the most nervous in the women’s grid of this ‘RG’: Ekaterina made a break, and on her own had a match point, but lost the initiative in the tie. Beatrice happily took advantage of the weakness of her opponent and took the initiative in the match into her own hands: she did not miss these opportunities and closed the match from the first match point: 7: 5, 4: 6, 5: 7.
The defeat of the hall from the stands, according to colleagues from the YouTube project “More”, Dmitry Tursunov is watching this “RG”. A specialist for the unpaved TBSH period is temporarily collaborating with a Russian woman; Nothing is known about the future yet. But, perhaps, it is he who will help Ekaterina to cope with the already grassy season.
