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Pierce struggles past qualifier

    June 24 2005
Wimbledon - Mary Pierce saved a match point and needed more than two hours to defeat Ukrainian qualifier Julia Vakulenko 4-6, 7-6 (7), 9-7 and reach the third round at Wimbledon on Thursday.

It was a real struggle for the French Open finalist, who had little rhythm, made a succession of unforced errors and was unable to rally consistently until the final set.

Pierce began and ended the opening game with double-faults, and she was then unable to win any of four break points in the fourth game as Vakulenko held with her third ace.

Vakulenko, ranked 220th, was the more consistent player and went on to take the first set when Pierce netted a return.

Pierce saved a match point at 6-5 with an ace
In the second set, Pierce often hit out at the ball with little apparent effort at accuracy. Vakulenko was more prepared to rally and build a winning position, but she also became erratic and a backhand error gave Pierce a break at 4-3.

But Pierce failed to serve out for the set, sending a disputed forehand wide after Vakulenko saved a set point with backhand pass, and she also failed to win any of the three break points at 5-5.

In the tiebreaker, Pierce saved a match point at 6-5 with an ace, before taking the set on her third set point.

In the final set, Vakulenko held a break point when leading 2-1 but made a poor return. Then Pierce, playing with increasing authority and making far fewer errors, broke to lead 6-5 by forcing an error from her service return.

Pierce again failed to serve out the set, making a backhand error on break point, but she broke again to lead 8-7 when Vakulenko netted a forehand and clinched victory when her opponent netted a return. - Sapa-AP