Luksika bounces back from crushing singles defeat
Hua Hin - Thai No 1 Luksika Kumkhum partially atoned for her disappointing singles first-round singles exit as she and Cornelia Lister of Sweden teamed up to oust Priscilla Hon of Australia and Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia 6-2 7-6 (7-2) in the US$250,000 WTA Thailand Open on Wednesday.
Luksika said she had been determined to put behind her a crushing 6-2 6-1 defeat by the in-form Chinese Zhang Shuai and remain in contention in the doubles.
“I tried to forget about that and stay at the present. I’m more concerned on how to regain my level. I was playing better than yesterday but it’s still not the kind of form I would wish for,” said the 83rd-ranked Luksika, who admitted she had felt under great pressure playing her home tournament.
“I thought I would go on to the court feeling relaxed but I was unable to keep my cool. Besides, when my opponent [Zhang] played that well, it made me even more tense and I couldn’t play the way I wanted to.”
She and Lister will next play third-seeded Peng Shuai, a former doubles Grand Slam champion, and Yang Zhaoxuan of China, in the quarter-finals.
“Although we are playing together for the first time, Lister and I are proving to be a great team as she really helps me at the net and covers the baseline well. We have a tough match in the next round but we will try to find a way to stay in the tournament,” Luksika added
Lister was just happy to still be in the seaside resort. “It’s good I still have one more day in Hua Hin as I don’t want to go home yet,” she said.
In another first-round doubles match, Oksana Kalashnikova of Georgia and Danka Kovinic of Montenegro beat Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland and Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands 2-6 6-3 10-5.
