Anna Kalinskaya struggles for three hours, then excruciating disappointment
A great disappointment at the end of a thrilling challenge.
Anna Kalinskaya struggles for nearly three hours, then has to accept an excruciating disappointment. In fact, her WTA tournament in Doha, Qatar, ends already at the 32nd final, where the circuit number 18 loses in three sets to Spain’s Cristina Bucsa, world number 98. Very long and throbbing match, ending with the score of 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-4.
For Kalinskaya, Sunday turned out to be complicated already from the first set, opened by three very long games and in which the Spaniard even managed to save herself from two break points. Then è it was she who wrested her service from her opponent, taking a 3-1 lead. The Russian does not give up: even in the fifth game she forces herself two break points that Bucsa cancels, then manages to take advantage of the one in the ninth game that brings the score back to even. At the tie-break, therefore, è she prevailed.
The challenge, however, remains extremely balanced, as evidenced by the 1-1 beginning of the second set resulting from a break and counterbreak. The pattern is repeated in the fifth and sixth games, and also when it comes to the ninth and tenth. Decisive then becomes the eleventh, which goes to Bucsa and to which this time Kalinskaya fails to respond surrendering the set to her opponent.
The third set turns out to be the shortest of the match, but still nearing three quarters of an hour in duration. Thus, the intensity is not lacking, as evidenced by three more breaks that characterize the first three games. Here è once again Bucsa took the lead, fighting back when Kalinskaya claws 4-4. Winning her serve again at 5-4 earned her the victory, and an'atrocious disappointment for the Russian.
