World No.2 Dinara Safina advanced to the second round of Australian Open 2010, defeating Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia in a tough 6-4 6-4 encounter at Hisense Arena on Monday.
Safina, last year’s finalist, looked shaky in her first round clash. She had 21 unforced errors and five double faults in the opening set alone, but was able to prevail.
Once her nerves settled, Safina managed to secure the first break of the set. She hit a backhand cross-court winner, passing Rybarikova at the net to jump to a 3-2 lead.
The 21-year-old Slovakian quickly answered, breaking Safina’s serve in the next game. Safina then started to find her game, hitting powerful shots from the baseline. She managed to break back, snatching a 5-4 lead and eventually closing out the set with a cross-court forehand winner in 47 minutes.
A fired up Safina brought her momentum through to the second set, jumping to a 3-1 lead, but Rybarikova did not back down. She leveled the set 3-3 after Safina handed her a break with her third double fault for the set.
Safina responded, snatching a break in the next game. Despite working Safina hard, Rybarikova failed to capitalise on several break point opportunities. She had a chance to break the Russian’s serve to level the set 4-4, but Safina answered with a 153km/h ace down the middle.
The victory was Safina’s second straight-sets win over Rybarikova. The second seed will meet Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova or compatriot Regina Kulikova in the next round.
Bet & Watch on the Australian Open live online at bet365 > Live Streaming Tennis