STANFORD, California: Second-seeded Marion Bartoli won the last 11 games to surge past unranked US university player Mallory Burdette 7-5, 6-0 Thursday night in the second round of the WTA hard-court tournament here.
France’s Bartoli lost only seven points on her serve in the second set as she recovered from 4-1 down in the opening frame against the player who attends Stanford University, where the tournament is held.
Burdette had two chances to take the first set, but couldn’t covert either one and Bartoli seized the chance to turn the tide.
“She was playing well at the start,” said Bartoli, who won the title in 2009 and was runner-up last year to Serena Williams. Bartoli was also runner-up here in 2008.
“She was hitting the lines and the corners. It was not easy to come back. I had to wait for the storm to calm,” Bartoli said.
“I needed to take the momentum away from her. I stepped up and played harder. I tried to get more first serves in.
“I had the momentum going into the second set. But I knew it would not be easy until the last point, I didn’t want it to slip away.” Bartoli converted five of her 13 break chances against her inexperienced opponent, firing 26 winners with 17 unforced errors.
“My experience paid off and helped me a lot,” said the world No. 10. “I have good memories here. I was not worried, I knew I could come back.” Bartoli next faces fifth-seeded Belgian Yanina Wickmayer in the quarterfinals, when top-seeded Williams, fresh from her triumph at Wimbledon, will take on sixth-seeded Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa.
Third seed Dominika Cibulkova beat Japanese qualifier Erika Sema 6-1, 6-3 while unseeded Urszula Radwanska, sister of Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska, survived a second-set wobble to defeat eighth-seeded New Zealander Marina Erakovic 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
Poland’s Radwanska was up a set and a break but said she lost focus as Erakovic battled back to knot the match at one set apiece.
“And she also started playing better,” said Radwanska, who won a match here last year as a qualifier.
But the younger Radwanska, ranked 57th in the world, held on to wrap up the match in just over two hours. She booked a quarterfinal clash with American Coco Vandeweghe.
Romanian Sorana Cirstea reached her fourth quarterfinal of 2012 with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over China’s Zheng Saisai, advancing to a clash with Cibulkova.
Hewitt advances
In Newport, Rhode Islandm, Lleyton Hewitt of Australia defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the semifinals at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on Thursday.
He’s finding the grass courts of Newport to his liking. The win was his second in straight sets in three matches.
Hewitt will play for Australia in the London Olympics at the All England Club in a few weeks.
“It worked perfectly to come here before I go back to London and get ready for the Olympics,” he said. “Any time I get an opportunity to represent Australia, it means a lot. I’ve done it in terms of Davis Cup, but the Olympics is a little bit different. To be able to play on grass, which is my favorite as a tennis player, is going to be great.” Wild card Ryan Harrison beat fellow American Jesse Levine 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals, while German Benjamin Becker ousted Canadian Milos Raonic 6-3, 6-3.
The 31-year old Hewitt, the No. 1 player for 75 consecutive weeks from 2001-03, has had five surgeries in the past four years. He entered the week ranked a career-low 233 on the ATP tour.
He said his most recent operation on his left foot, which required a fusion with screws, was the toughest to overcome.
“It’s been good. I wasn’t sure what to really expect this week coming back to playing after having 4 1/2 months off,” he said. “It was probably my toughest rehab to get over — the foot surgery. I had a couple of rough draws at Queens and Wimbledon (this year). It was nice to be able to get some rhythm this week and play my game. I feel like I’ve been getting better as every match went on.” In the other quarterfinal, second-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan was upset by American Rajeev Ram, the 2009 Newport champion, 7-6 (6), 6-3.
Ram will face Hewitt on Saturday after the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.
“Lleyton is someone I grew up watching on TV,” he said. “I respect him a lot.” The tournament is played in conjunction with Hall of Fame inductions. Jennifer Capriati heads the 2012 class.
