BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open
Despite still suffering from a lower back injury, Ana displayed two accomplished performances at the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open. Nevertheless, she could not avert a second round exit against Alison Van Uytvanck after an epic two hours and 22 minute match.
Returning to the venue in Luxembourg always brings sweet memories for Ana. She played her first WTA-event here as a 15-year-old, reached her first quarter-finals at that level one year later and clinched the title here in 2007.
Also in the 2015 edition, Ana was determined to finish her season on a positive note. In her opening round match against Briton Heather Watson, second seeded Ana broke in the opening game and was in firm control during the entire match. Thanks to a solid serve, followed up by a bunch of winners from her forehand wing, the former world No. 1 surged into a routine 6-4, 6-3 win.
Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck was up next. The world No. 48 had reached the quarter-finals at this year’s French Open out of the blue and broke into the top-50 for the first time in her career.
21-year-old Van Uytvanck stepped on court fearlessly. The Belgian rifled four clean winners to break Ana in the opening game of the match and was utterly dominant on serve. Van Uytvanck delivered not less than seventeen aces during the contest and forced Ana on the backfoot in the first set.
Things didn’t look very rosy as Ana also fell a break behind in the second act. But with her back against the wall, the world No. 12 once more dug deep and snatched back the break with a forehand winner on the run. A tiebreak would eventually ensue. After falling behind 2-4, Ana won five of the next six points – including three consecutive breathtaking forehand winners – to level the match at one set apiece.
The decider could have gone either way. No breaks were allowed until the eleventh game, and unfortunately, it was Ana who first surrendered her serve. Van Uytvanck earned two match points in the next game and didn’t falter to serve it out, converting the first to book her career’s biggest victory.
“Alison played a great match today, served big and hit a lot of winners as well. At one point, I felt I kept walking back and forth; I think she served five aces in a row. So yeah, it was really hard to read her serve.”
“My lower back has been bothering me since Asia, and now, I feel it’s building up. In the beginning of the week it got a bit better, but when I get a high impact, it gets really sensitive and completely blocks.”
“Not qualifying for Singapore was definitely a huge disappointment, because that was one of my main goals this year. Reaching the semis of the French Open was a highlight of course and although it was a bit up and down in between, I felt that I had a lot of opportunities so I’m looking positive to next season.”
Results
R1: Ana vs. H. Watson (WTA-54) 6-4, 6-3
R2: Ana vs. A. Van Uytvanck (WTA-48) 4-6, 7-6(5), 5-7
