Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova ended a memorable week in Paris by defeating Sara Errani at the Open GDF SUEZ. The Russian reeled off 48 winners en route to taking the match 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
In a match of many momentum swings, Pavlyuchenkova began by racing out to a 3-1 lead in the opening set. She then dropped seven consecutive games to leave Errani firmly in the driving seat with a set lead and a 2-0 buffer in the second.
The Russian then awoke from her slumber and took seven consecutive games of her own behind strong serving and huge groundstrokes. With the second set sealed, the match was carefully balanced as it progressed into the deciding stanza.
Pavlyuchenkova took the opening game but her advantage was short-lived, with Errani reeling off three more consecutive frames to move out to a 3-1 lead.
The see-saw battle turned on its head again – this time decisively, with Pavlyuchenkova recovering her rhythm and dropping only six more points throughout the remainder of the match. She won the remaining five games without reply to secure the biggest title of her career.
“I just want to keep working hard and improving my game, and if I keep doing those things it will show in rankings and results,” said the Russian after the match.
It was Pavlyuchenkova’s sixth career title and it was well earned. Earlier in the week, she defeated Carla Suárez Navarro, Angelique Kerber, and top seed Maria Sharapova.
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Cover Photo: karlnorling, Creative Commons License (Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova)
