The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Krajicek moves past Arvidsson

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Friday, Mar 09, 2007
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Krajicek moves past Arvidsson

Indian Wells: Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands booked a shot against Maria Sharapova with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson in the Pacific Life Open here on Wednesday.

A right rib injury forced the fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva to withdraw from the tournament that is already missing three of the world's top five players. Dementieva has a stress fracture that could sideline her for six weeks.

Wild card Mirjana Lucic took another step in her comeback after nearly four years away from the game. The unranked Germany-born Croatian beat American qualifier Lindsey Nelson 6-4, 7-6(4) for her first main draw victory since the 2002 French Open.

Lucic, a few days shy of her 25th birthday, said she never doubted that she would return, but financial difficulties prevented her from hiring a coach and doing the necessary travelling.

Now she plans to "just play from tournament to tournament and play as many matches as I can. Right now, I feel like I just won a Grand Slam. Right now, every match is huge for me."

Important results (first round): Mirjana Lucic bt Lindsey Nelson 6-4, 7-6(5); Nathalie Dechy bt Chan Yung-jan 7-6(2), 6-1; Michaella Krajicek bt Sofia Arvidsson 6-4, 6-3; Sun Tiantian bt Karolina Sprem 6-4, 7-6(1); Martina Sucha bt Yuliana Fedak 2-6, 6-3, 6-3; Kaia Kanepi bt Kristina Brandi 3-6, 7-5, 6-0. — AP

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