Kirilenko bests Barty after rain delay
UPDATE: Ash Barty's French Open campaign HAS ended with a heavy defeat to Russian Maria Kirilenko in their rain-delayed second-round match on Friday.
Paris, France, 1 June 2013 | AAP
Australian teenager Ash Barty’s French Open campaign has ended with a heavy defeat to Russian 12th seed Maria Kirilenko in their rain-delayed second-round match on Friday.
Barty had made an encouraging start to the match on Thursday with scores locked at 3-3 when rain forced play to be suspended for the day.
But the 17-year-old was comprehensively beaten when play resumed on Day 6, winning just one more game as Kirilenko powered to a 6-3 6-1 victory.
Barty would not use the rain delay as an excuse for her singles defeat.
“I was out there and it was just simply I was outplayed,” she said.
“I felt like I was playing pretty well but just missing a few too many balls. Against a player (ranked) 12 in the world, you’re going to get smashed when that happens.
“It’s disappointing to come out the way I did but you live and learn.”
Sam Stosur is now Australia’s last remaining hope in the singles at Roland Garros.
Rising star Barty will still take encouragement from her second Roland Garros campaign, despite Friday’s loss.
The world No.183 won her first career Grand Slam match with a three-set win over Czech Lucie Hradecka in the first round.
She took the confidence from that victory into the first session against Kirilenko, but the overnight delay looked to take the wind out of her sails.
She struggled to cope with the Russian’s power and aggression before finally holding serve to get on the board late in the second set.
Kirilenko will face Switzerland’s Stefanie Voegele or Estonian Kaia Kanepi in the third round; she felt she played at a much higher level on Friday but noted Barty’s level had dropped.
“Maybe it was good we started yesterday because I was able to see how to play against her,” Kirilenko said.
“Yesterday maybe she was more relaxed because she knew we were not going to finish the match. Today she was a different player out there but I was more solid. I concentrated more and my serve was much better.”
Barty had to back up quickly for her doubles match with Casey Dellacqua, yet fell to Mona Barthel and Liga Dekmeijere 3-6 6-4 6-4.