Vinci Triumphs In Hertogenbosch
Roberta Vinci wins her second title of the year
World number 30 Roberta Vinci has grabbed her second title of the year when she upset Jelena Dokic in three sets 6-7, 6-3, 7-5 in the final to become a real threat for the next week’s Wimbledon Grand Slam.
Despite a poor start, which saw the Italian lose the tight tie-break at seven, the 2011 Barcelona Open champion managed to stun the 59th-ranked Croatian after breaking her several times in the next sets. The two players exchanged a couple of early breaks in the first set, something which allowed Vinci to capture two set points at 5-4, and 6-5. Even more than that, she led Dokic 6-5 in the breaker, but she eventually conceded all the three straight mini breaks to give the Croatian a first lead.
The second set showed the same Italian breaking and not allowing Dokic to break back as the favorite closed out the set pretty early. Finally, the decider highlighted the to going head to head until the 11th game when Dokic conceded a crucial service, putting her opponent two games ahead. Vinci held he serves and finished the game in two hours and five minutes.
Said the Australian-established Dokic before the game: “I think I’m a much better player than I was before… more experienced. When you go through a lot you learn how to deal with situations. I hope I can keep it going… I’m feeling good on the grass.”
Unfortunately, she failed to grabbed her seventh title of career, permitting the 28-year-old to capture her fifth. En route to the final, Vinci had defeated Dominika Cibulkova 7-5, 6-1 in the semi finals and Yanina Wickmayer 6-4, 6-4 in the quarters. As for the first two round, they brought the Italian two straight-set wins over Polona Hercog of Slovenia and Romania’s Alexandra Dulgheru.
On the other side, Dokic had previously passed Romina Oprandi of Italy after her opponent pulled over at 6-4, 2-0 due to an injury. In the quarter finals, the Aussie had beaten Johanna Larsson 7-6, 6-4, while her first two victories had come against Alla Kudryavtseva and Flavia Pennetta.
Their next stop is Wimbledon which is scheduled to take place between June 20 and July 3. Roberta Vinci will make her British debut against Vera Dushevina of Russia, while Dokic meets Francesca Schiavone in the first day. Caroline Wozniacki is to start the grass Grand Slam as favorite, while Vera Zvonareva will be seeded second due to Kim Clijster’s absence.
