The fourth day of competition at The BMW Malaysian Open has been an absolute treat for tennis fans. With half a dozen of the top seeds taking to the courts to get in on the action, Centre Court hosted the biggest upsets of the tournament thus far when Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru sent second seed Sabine Lisicki of Germany packing out of the tournament. World No 94 Dulgheru shocked World No 28 Lisicki in straight sets 6-4, 7-5.
Dulgheru commented, āLisicki is a great player no doubt, she is a big server and a big hitter as well. The match was anything but easy but I was mentally prepared to fight for every point, and during the match I had to focus very hard as I drifted in and out of my rhythm. But I managed to hang in there during the crucial second set by being focused and having a slightly better playing rhythm compared to Lisicki.ā
Next, Dulgheru will face Chinaās World No 116 Duan Ying-Ying. āI prefer to play at night as the heat and humidity during the day is quite challenging. I look forward to playing Duan tomorrow night. There are many Asian players on the international circuit who are really good players, and they play really well too. So I will continue to do what I enjoy doing, which is playing tennis.ā
Earlier, 2012 BMW Malaysian Open winner Hsieh Su-Wei of Chinese Taipei defeated third seed Casey Dellacqua of Australia in three sets, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3.
Hsieh commented, āI am very happy to have been able to beat a player of Dellacquaāscalibre. Coming fresh from competing in Doha, I was actually ill and not match fit. But I went into the match with the firm mind set of doing my very best as I had nothing to lose. The break because of the weather did me good and my strategy in the third set worked which enabled me to win the match.ā
She continued by saying, āMy strategy for the match against a top player like Dellacqua was to serve as best as I could, as I knew a left-handed player like Dellacqua would be tough with her serve. I managed to hit good returns and gave it my all in the rallies. We were both running up and down the court for close to two hours, but as the match progressed my game strategy worked and I managed to overcome her.ā
World No 181 Hsieh will face Japanese World No 132 MisaEguchi in the next round. Eguchi toiled for more than two hours to defeat Belgian World No 106 An-Sophie Mestach 2-6, 7-5, 6-3. āEguchi will be a tough opponent as she is a good hitter with a big serve. Despite the tough match ahead, I am unfazed and will continue to enjoy my tennis and have fun,ā said a beaming Hsieh.
In the next highly-anticipated match on Centre Court, top seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark was up against Chinaās World No 160 Wang Yafan. Wang started the tournament well by winning her first two qualifying matches. However playing the former World No 1 was always going to be an uphill battle for Wang and the Dane easily won the match in straight sets 6-3, 6-1.
Wozniacki commented on her win, āThe first match of the tournament was always going to be tough. But how I finish the match is important and finished with a win. I am happy as this is the first match I have won in Malaysia. Plus, the weather is really hot and humid. Luckily for me I drank lots of water to stay hydrated and had cold thoughts to overcome the heat.
As for her next opponent, Zhu Lin, Wozniacki said, āI have never played against her, but I look forward to the match and I will be playing to win as always.āĀ
In other matches, World No 122 Lin Zhu of China took two hours to defeat Ukrainian World No 158 YuliyaBeygelzimer in three sets, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 for a next round match with top seed Wozniacki.
Fifth seed KlaraKoukalova breezed her through to the next round as she beat Austrian World No 134 Patricia Mayr-Achleitner in straight sets 6-1, 6-3. Koukalovaās next opponent will be German World No 81 Carina Witthoeft, who took one and a half hours to overcome a resilient MisakiDoi of Japan in straight sets 7-5, 7-5.Ā
The tennis action continues to heat up on the hard courts of The Royal Selangor Golf Club as both singles and doubles players continue in their respective quests for the coveted titles tomorrow. Stay tuned for all the tennis action happening right here at the BMW Malaysian Open 2015. Ā Ā
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