Linda Fruhvirtová did not manage another three-set drama at the tournament in Indian Wells. In the deciding set, she already led 5:2 and had a match point, but in the end she lost to Anhelina Kalinin 6:4, 4:6, 5:7. On the other hand, Barbora Krejčíková coped with her opponent from Ukraine, beating Dajana Jastremská 6:1, 6:2. Petra Kvitová also advanced to the 3rd round, defeating the American of Czech origin Elizabeth Mandliková 6:1, 7:5.
Fruhvirtová started the previous duel with Majar Šarífová from Egypt with a humiliating “canary” in the first set, but then took a breath for a big and winning turn.
The fight with the 27th seeded player developed exactly the opposite. The 17-year-old Czech entered the match famously and quickly took a 5-0 lead.
But then she let her opponent pull to within a single game, and Kalinin served to equalize. However, Fruhvirtová captured the set for herself with another break.
In the second act, the Czech immediately lost serve, but she immediately made up for the loss, and she did the same soon after the next break.
However, she served her rival even at 4:5, and Kalininova did not disdain another chance and leveled the set at 1:1 with her own serve.
In the decisive game, Fruhvirtová escaped thanks to a break to 5:2 and immediately had a match point on her opponent’s serve. However, the Ukrainian turned him away, won not only this game, but also the next four in a row, and celebrated the victory after two and three quarters of an hour.
The talented Czech also paid for an unusually high number of double faults, even committing 21 of them.
Today’s second Czech-Ukrainian clash had a clear course. The tournament sixteenth seed Krejčíková, who, like all the other seeded players, had a free draw in the opening round, did not give Jastremská a chance in her first appearance after her triumph at the event in Dubai. She even allowed only one game in the first and two in the second set.
During the entire match, the opponent held serve only in the opening game, so in the second set, the Czech player was not stopped even by the fact that she also lost serve twice. It was over immediately after the first match point in just one hour and ten minutes.
Kvitová also won the first set unequivocally 6:1 in an attractive encounter with the American Mandliková.
However, in the second set, the daughter of the famous Czech tennis player and Grand Slam champion Hana Mandlíková rallied, leading 5:3, but the next four games already belonged to the favored seeded fifteen.
Kvitová’s next opponent will be Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, winner of the Grand Slam French Open. The balance of mutual matches so far is narrowly favorable for the tennis player from Fulnek (5:4).
Indian Wells Men’s and Women’s Tennis Tournament (Hard Court):
Women ($8.8 million endowment):
Singles – 2nd round: Kvitova (15-CR) – Mandliková (USA) 6:1, 7:5, Krejčíková (16-CR) – Jastremská (Ukr.) 6:1, 6:2, Kalininová (27-Ukr.) – L. Fruhvirtová (Czech Republic) 4:6, 6:4, 7:5, Teichmannová (Switzerland) – Bencicová (9-Switzerland) 3:6, 6:3, 6:3, Ostapenko (24-Lot.) – Sasnovičová ( Bel.) 7:5, 3:6, 6:2, Curenková (Ukrainian) – Vekičová (29-Croatian) 2:6, 6:2, 6:2.
Men (subsidy $10,143,750):
Singles – 2nd round: Ruud (3-Nor.) – Schwartzman (Arg.) 6:2, 6:3, Norrie (10-Brit.) – Wu Tung-Lin (Taiwan) 6:2, 6:4, Ivaška (Bel. ) – Van de Zandschulp (28-Netherlands) 7:5, 3:2 scratch, Garín (Chile) – Nišioka (29-Japan) 6:4, 6:0.
