Kaia Kanepi through to Indian Wells round three
Kaia Kanepi is through to round three of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, after beating Tokyo olympic gold medalist and world number 25 Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) in straight sets, 6:4, 6:3, after a very strong serving game.
Kanepi, 36, ranked 63rd in the world, had beaten Robin Montgomery (U.S.) in straight sets to get to round two, and the head-to-head between her and Bencic was 1:0 in the Swiss player's favor.
While the Estonian was 4:2 down at one point in set one, she pulled together eight games in a row, not only taking the first set 6:4 but finding herself 4:0 up in the second set. While Bencic won the next two games, it was not enough to catch up, and Kanepi took the second set, and with it the match, 6:3, winning the final game 40:0 on her service.
The entire encounter lasted one our and 23 minutes, with Kanepi serving up five aces to Bencic's one.
Kanepi meets Harriet Dart (U.K., ranked 122nd in the world) in round three, and has equaled her career-furthest progress in the tournament.
Dart had defeated Ukrainian player Elena Svitolina in three sets in round two.
Estonia's top player, Anett Kontaveit, is set to face Kristina Kucova (Slovakia, 77th in the world) late on Saturday evening, Estonian time.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte