Buyukakcay stuns Dulgheru

Dubai - Poor calls by line-umpires left top seed Alexandra Dulgheru fuming after she was stunningly knocked out of the ITF Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge by an inspired Cagla Buyukakcay at Habtoor Grand Resort and Spa tennis court on Thursday.

The defending champion from Romania was up 6-4 and 3-0 and looked in irresistible form. But the 26-year-old Buyukakcay from Turkey dug deep into her reserves, producing top-notch baseline tennis to win the engrossing three-set (4-6 6-4 6-3) quarterfinal battle.
Buyukakcay, even after shaking hands with Dulgheru at the end of the match, argued with the Romanian for disturbing play by shouting at the umpire during points.
"There were some important points. They missed some balls that missed the line by a large margin. The chair umpire (Waleed Samaan) didn't say anything," a furious Dulgheru later told Khaleej Times.
"That's what happens when you have only one line-umpire. I am just upset because those were important points. It could have been 4-2 instead of 3-3 (in the second set). "Yes, she played a good match, but I am upset because the umpire has to be careful in important moments.
"I had a perfect ace, but the line umpire ruled it out. Then there was a perfect back-hand winner which was ruled out as well. Those points were important in the context of the set. Yes, Cagla played well, but mistakes like those can make the difference in a tough match like this," Dulgheru said.
Apart from the human errors, the intensity of Buyukakcay's fightback left the world number 52 in total disarray.
Dulgheru had no answer to the Turk's ferocious groundstrokes and confident net-play.
"Alexandra is a tough player. She played very well in the important points in the first set. I lost that set, but I knew that I could come back if I could play like her in the important points," Buyukakcay told Khaleej Times.
"I was losing 3-0 in the second set, but I didn't give up hope. And I changed my strategy as well. I was trying to get into the baseline more, sometimes defending a lot. So I decided to attack only if the ball was short. I was concentrating on returning well."
The world number 191 ranked it among the best wins in her career. "It's up there with the best, no doubt. In the Fed Cup this year, I had wins over number 26 and 38. So this is my third good win of the year. This year is turning out to be my best so far."
Buyukakcay's semifinal opponent will be compatriot Ipek Soylu who beat Kristina Kucova of Slovakia 6-1 2-6 7-6 (7/4). "She is younger than me. We know each other very well as we played together in the past. I hope it will be a nice match for both of us." Buyukakcay said.
Third seed Alexandra Panova of Russia easily beat Tereza Martincova 6-1 6-3 to set up a semifinal date with Klara Koukalova.
The second seed Koukalova of the Czech Republic was too strong for fifth seed Elise Mertens of Belgium (7-5 6-1).
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com