The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Pennetta progresses

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Pennetta progresses

NUSA DUA (Indonesia): Italy’s Flavia Pennetta, irritated by the ice-pack treatment time-out taken by Anastasia Rodionova, registered a 6-3, 7-5 victory at the Bali Open on Thursday.

“I was angry,” said the third seed, a U.S. Open quarterfinalist still feeling the effects of the 12-hour time change between New York and this tropical island.

“If you are unable to play you should not stay on the court,” she said after her 77th-ranked opponent lost a second round contest filled with fitness drama.

Rodionova was stretched out on the side of the court as she lost a 4-0 lead in the second set, her legs raised on a chair while ice packs were rubbed on her limbs by the trainer at 5-4.

Pennetta, who revealed she herself “could not breathe” as she lost a dozen straight points to start the set, fumed at the service line during the treatment.

The Italian quickly took her anger out on her weakened opponent, coming through for the win that put her into the quarterfinals as she concluded with her seventh ace.

The Italian hopes to continue a solid run on hard court over the last few months, having played a California final and then making the last eight of the U.S. Open where she lost to Dinara Safina.

Easy for Petrova

Pennetta will next face Tamira Paszek of Austria who upset the seventh-seeded Italian Sara Errani 6-0, 7-6(2). The fourth-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia also advanced, beating Italy’s Tathiana Garbin 6-1, 6-1.

The results: At Nusa Dua: WTA Bali Open: Second round: Chan Yung-Jan bt Peng Shuai 6-1, 7-5; Flavia Pennetta bt Anastasia Rodionova 6-3, 7-5; Nadia Petrova bt Tathiana Garbin 6-1, 6-1; Tamira Paszek bt Sara Errani 6-0, 7-6(2).

At Bucharest: BCR Open: Second round: Jose Acasuso bt Martin Vassallo Arguello 6-4, 7-5; Ivan Navarro bt Denis Gremelmayr 6-3, 1-0, retd. — Agencies

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