Luksika rising in status after fine win
Thai teenager Luksika Kumkhum picked up where she left off in the Melbourne Park by advancing to the second round of the PTT Pattaya Open with an emphatic 6-2 6-2 victory over Australia's Casey Dellacqua at Dusit Thani hotel yesterday.
Luksika got into the main draw of the US$ 235,000 event for the first time after receiving a wildcard on the back of her outstanding performance in the Australian Open where she became the second Thai after Tamarine Tanasugarn to win a singles match in Melbourne Park following her first-round victory over Sweden’s Sofia Arvidsson.
Against the player who finished runners-up in the women’s doubles in Melbourne last week, Luksika rose to the occasion in front of a sizeable crowd, racing through the first set 6-2 before booking her second round spot against pin-up girl Maria Kirilenko in just little over an hour.
Second seed and world No 15 Kirilenko of Russia made life difficult for herself with erratic serving, mixing five aces against six double faults on her to a hard-fought 6-3 7-5 victory over Uzbekistan’s Akgul Amanmuradova in a match that lasted nearly two hours.
On court two, fourth seed Sorana Cirstea of Romania made light work of the world No 180 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, securing a straight set victory in just one hour and 13 minutes.
After playing a gruelling doubles match the day before, the Romanian, currently occupying the 30th place in the ranking, must had hoped for a straightforward win against the American opponent, who she beat twice in their previous two meetings.
The 22-year-old Cirstea exactly got that after she claimed an early break in game three and followed that up with two more breaks to win 6-1 in the first set against the American who made her way through qualifying.
Mittek required a medical timeout ahead of the second set for what seemed to be a blistered toe. It seemed to work for the 27-year-old as she got her first break of the match soon afterwards. She, though, immediately relinquished her advantage in the next game.
The pair then traded breaks again but it was the American who contributed to her own downfall when she double faulted to trail 5-3 behind before hitting long on Cirstea’s second match point.
The Romanian was happy to make the most of the conditions she described as “perfect” despite her match played in the early afternoon.
“Last year it was very hot. So, I’m little sad that it’s cloudy and rainy. It’s still a little humid but I think the weather today is perfect to play.
“Certainly, very happy [with her performance] because Bethanie’s very tough opponent, especially for the first round match. I think I came out and played pretty solid first round. And, I did some good things out there so I’m quite happy with my win,” said Cristea who next face Australia’s Anastasia Rodionova after the qualifier saw off Vania King of the United States 6-4 6-4.
Fifth-placed seed Sabine Lisicki quickly joined Cirstea into the second round after breezing past German compatriot Tatjana Malek 6-2 6-3 in exactly an hour. The world No 52’s second round opponent is Russia’s Alexandra Panova.
Earlier in the day, Thai women’s tennis star Tamarine visited Fountain of Life Center in an activity hosted by Thaibev, one of the tournament’s sponsors, to give essential goods to the foundation, which served as a proper shelter for underprivileged children.
The kids, many of them from broken families, were visibly excited to meet the player they used to watch on TV and greeted Tamarine, who is in the twilight of her long career, with some dancing and singing, bringing a smile to the 35-year-old’s face.
Seen engaging with the children intimately, Tamarine was asked whether she already met her guy but she joked, saying she was afraid that many believed she had a heavy hand so they preferred not to get close to her.
