Kremlin Cup by Bank of Moscow, Russia

Women’s Final: [CR30] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) vs. [CR61] Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU)

A game built around guile is more dependent on mental fortitude and physical stamina than one built around pace. If your game is weaker than your opponent’s, you will be more susceptible to the negative influence of tension. Begu realized that today as she competed against Pavlyuchenkova, who had more pace and shots in her arsenal, which allowed her to dictate play.

Begu lacked the weapons to abruptly end points consistently in many games; therefore, she was expending more energy throughout the match and was mentally and physically exhausted by the final set.  Despite her will to compete, Begu could no longer put forth the effort to counter the pace and placement of Pavlyuchenkova’s shots.

The player with the power game won; however, if Begu had been more consistent in the execution of her shots, the outcome may have been different. In the end, Begu ran out of belief, energy and time and Pavlyuchenkova won 6-4, 5-7, 6-1.