Crazy scoreline, crazy match.  Mona Barthel recovered from a set and a break down to defeat the number eight seed in Luxembourg, Monica Niculescu.  It was the kind of wackadoodle match you would expect from two players on complete opposite ends of the tennis spectrum.  Niculescu completely dominated the first set as Barthel struggled to put balls in court.  Barthel went up an early break in the second set, but played a couple of woeful games as Niculescu went up 6-0 *4-3.  Niculescu even had game points to lead Barthel 6-0 5-3*, but Mona relaxed.

At the end of the second set, Barthel persisted in coming to the net on almost every point.  Rather surprisingly, it was a tactic that paid off.  I haven’t seen Mona do this much in the past, but against Niculescu, it was actually a smart move and she was managing to execute it reasonably well.  Barthel won six straight games to quickly go up *4-0 in the decider.  It wasn’t pretty tennis, but Mona adjusted to the situation marvellously well and was very patient against a tiring Niculescu, who took a MTO towards the end of the second set.

I was still wary despite a double break lead… and I was right to be as Niculescu won three straight games..  However, Mona reined it back in and helped out with some clutch serving in the final game, sealed a big win.  In my opinion, this was one of Mona’s best wins of the whole year.  I’ve lost count of the number of matches where Mona has completely zoned out and lost matches without barely a whimper.  It’s refreshing to see her show some resistance.  On this occasion, it worked out for her and she produced a really impressive turnaround.  Niculescu is a crafty and determined opponent, who has been in great form lately.  Furthermore, she’s reached the final twice before in Luxembourg.  This was a step in the right direction for Mona…

Barthel goes through to the quarter-finals in Luxembourg where she will play Kiki Bertens.  The pair played last week in Linz with Mona winning, 6-3 6-1.  This will be the NINTH time they have played each other!