Tamarine flies high as Thais fall by wayside
Tamarine Tanasugarn kept the Thai flag flying at the Dusit Thani Hotel, Pattaya, yesterday when she moved past a sick Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan in the first round of the US$220,000 PTT Pattaya Open.
While her compatriots made early exits on a hot and humid day, Tamarine remained solid on court to beat the sixth-seeded Voskoboeva who threw in the towel at 6-3 4-2 after complaining of breathing problem.
It was a sweet revenge for Tamarine, who last week lost to the Kazakhi 6-3 6-3 in the Fed Cup. The Kingdom’s ace, who lost to Ayumi Morita of Japan in the first round last year, played consistent tennis and placed her shots well.
“She didn’t play well today. There were many errors from her side and she could not get her first serves in. Maybe it was because of the heat. Here it is 30 degrees compared to 10 in China during the Fed Cup,’’ said Tamarine, who looks to avenge her defeat when she takes on Taiwan’s Chan Kai-chen in the second round today.
“I just lost to her in Fed Cup last week 6-3 6-4 but I beat her earlier in a WTA match. She has a similar game like Galena. So it will come down to who is more aggressive and who makes fewer errors,’’ said Tamarine, the finalist in 2010.
Top seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia saved triple break points at 0-40 and 5-all before advancing past local challenger Varatchaya Wongteanchai 6-2 7-5.
“The first match is always tough. I didn’t play my usual game but I always came up with better shots when I needed them at 0-40. I’m happy to get through,’’ said the world No 8 who said she felt like home every time she came back here. She next takes on Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan who won when Laura Robson of Great Britain retired with a back injury at 2-5.
Varatchaya, No 218, impressed the crowd with her smart play against the world No 8. She counter-punched the Russian’s heavy shots with some exquisite shots. But the Thai, who has been played a series of matches in the Fed Cup and also in the qualifying, could not sustain her fight for long as fatigue seems to have taken a toll on her body.
“It was a bit difficult coming from Fed Cup in China where temperature was less than 20 degrees while it was over 30 here. I would have been physically tougher if I had trained at home. But this is a great experience for me. I was just hoping not to get a double bagel but the result was beyond my expectations,’’ said the 22-year-old qualifier.
Noppawan again failed to survive the first round at the Pattaya tournament for the sixth successive year, losing in straight sets to Misaki Doi of Japan 6-1 6-3. The local wildcard entrant, who got several chances to break the Japanese at 3-4 in the second set, lost her momentum and faded away quickly.
“There was a long deuce in that game and it could have made a difference if I had won that game,’’ said Noppawan. She said rising pressure and expectations are the reasons for her below par performances at home.
“I was telling myself not to feel pressured but when I was on court it was difficult to do so. I knew people expected me to win. I’m sorry I let them down. It’s disappointing because this is my only home tournament this year,’’ said Noppawan who hoped to make amends in the WTA event in Malaysia later this month.
Elsewhere, Japanese Misaki Doi enjoyed a string of unforced errors from local wildcard entrant Noppawan Lertcheewakarn to win 6-1 6-3, Russian Alla Kudryavsteva beat Chinese qualifier Zhou Yi-mao (Chn) 6-1 7-5, Taiwanese qualifier Chang Kai-chen upset world No 81 Eleni Danilidou of Greece 7-5 6-1. Veteran Kimiko Date Krumm beat Thai wildcard holder Nicha Lertpitaksinchai 6-1 6-1.
