Alison Van Uytvanck kicked off Belgium’s United Cup marketing campaign with a hard-fought 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 win over Bulgaria’s Isabella Shinikova in a single hour and 43 minutes.
5-time Hologic WTA Tour titlist Van Uytvanck had entered because the favorite in opposition to No.381-ranked Shinikova and lived as much as that standing over a dominant first half-hour. She rattled by way of eight of the primary 10 video games, going up a break for 2-1 within the second set as Shinikova double faulted twice.
However Shinikova, who confirmed little signal of the leg harm that had beset her throughout a three-set defeat to Greece’s Despina Papamichail on Day 1, struck again in fashion. Introducing extra selection into her sport, the 31-year-old added refined chips and drop pictures to her aggressive techniques to show the second set round.
Van Uytvanck’s error rely elevated from six to twenty as she struggled to regulate. Hanging winners off each wings with actual panache, Shinikova took 5 of the subsequent six video games to stage the match and set her sights on a sixth profession Prime 100 win.
The beginning of the third set noticed the very best stage of tennis from each gamers, with Van Uytvanck conjuring a pinpoint lob winner off her toes within the first sport and Shinikova scrambling up and down the court docket earlier than discovering a go within the second. No.72-ranked Van Uytvanck reasserted her authority within the sixth sport, arising with a profitable dropshot and profiting from two Shinikova double faults to interrupt for 4-2.
That proved decisive. Van Uytvanck, now again in a groove on serve, closed out the win on the first time of asking, firing a forehand down the road on match level for her thirty first winner of the day.
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