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Casey Dellacqua launched a spirited fightback against Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier to advance to the third round of Wimbledon today.
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But fellow Australian Samantha Stosur blew a golden opportunity to face her when she lost a tough second-round match against Dellacqua’s next opponent, 18th-seeded Czech Nicole Vaidisova.
World No.43 Dellacqua beat her 59th-ranked opponent 1-6 6-2 6-3.
“Today I didn’t feel like I played my best tennis, I made a few too many unforced errors,” Dellacqua said.
“My serve let me down a little bit, especially in the first set, but I was able to stay positive and I guess I was just proud of my attitude.
“I didn’t let the match get away from me and I really hung in there and was able to have a win.”
Stosur’s match was so nearly a mirror image, with the Australian taking control in the second set and racing to a 3-0 lead in the third, but she was overhauled 6-2 0-6 6-4 in what she called the toughest defeat of her career.
“I’ve played big matches, I know that, but this one is kind of hurting probably more than nearly any other match I have played,” said Stosur, who returned to the tour in April after eight months on the sidelines because of illness.
“There’s just things I’ve got to look back on and change and remember and change them for next time.
“It’s a hard lesson to learn when it was such a good opportunity today.”
Dellacqua, who beat No.12 seed Patty Schnyder in the opening round, was off to a bad start when she fell 3-0 behind.
The Australian had two break points in the fifth game but missed her chance when Parmentier hit a fortunate let cord to save the second.
Parmentier then broke her opponent for a 5-1 lead and, serving for the set, saved a break point when Dellacqua missed a return before closing it out.
In the second set, Dellacqua survived an early break point before breaking serve herself for a 3-1 lead and then again to win the set to even up the match.
In a tight third set, the turning point came when Dellacqua broke Parmentier in the eighth game to earn the right to serve for victory, which she claimed on her second of three match points.
Stosur made a similarly poor beginning in her match, dropping her first two service games to go 3-0 down and effectively surrender the set.
Stosur looked a different player when she emerged for the second set, to the delight of Australian fans in the crowd.
She broke early when Vaidisova sent a smash carelessly wide and saved three break points on her next service game to take control.
Stosur clearly had her opponent flustered and raced to a 3-0 lead in the decider, having won nine straight games to reach that point.
Vaidisova finally managed to hold serve in the fourth game and, with her confidence lifted, broke Stosur in the next game.
The Czech claimed another break and finished off the match with a powerful cross-court forehand to claim a gutsy win, her sixth in as many meetings against Stosur.
“All of a sudden the wheels kind of fall off for a couple of points and then you get a bit down and panicked and before you know it you are 5-3 down,” Stosur said.
“There’s a lot I can learn from it and hope that if you get in this situation again you don’t make the same mistakes.”
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