July 12, 2012

STANFORD, Calif.- Senior Mallory Burdette gave Marion Bartoli an early scare, only to see the tournament's No. 2 seed and the world's 10th-ranked player storm back for a 7-5, 6-0 victory on Thursday afternoon in the second round of the Bank of the West Classic.

For the majority of the first set, it looked as if Burdette was on her way to notching an incredible upset. Smashing powerful ground strokes left and right, Burdette was closing out games at an efficient pace while finding a way to win key points.

The three-time All-American was actually leading 5-2 and serving for set point before the match suddenly changed. Bartoli responded by ripping off 11 consecutive games, closing out the match and punching her ticket into the quarterfinals.

When it was all said and done, Stanford fans witnessed another hard-fought performance from one of their own as Burdette did all she could to challenge Bartoli. One day earlier, junior Nicole Gibbs turned in an inspired effort against 14-time major champion Serena Williams in a 6-2, 6-1 loss.

Just like Gibbs on Wednesday, Burdette gained valuable experience competing against one of the sport's premier players. Not to mention, the teammates picked up their first career WTA victory in the process.

Burdette won a lengthy first game to take a 1-0 lead before Bartoli fired off four straight points to force a 1-1 tie.

It was all Burdette after that, with the two-time NCAA doubles champion building leads of 4-1 and 5-2. Bartoli then held serve to creep within 5-3.

The turning point of the match occurred in the next game. Serving for the set, Burdette went ahead 40-15 before Bartoli countered with four straight points to cut the deficit to 5-4.

Bartoli followed with three straight games to pull out the first set, 7-5. Bartoli, the 2009 Bank of the West Classic champion, then breezed through the second set in only 30 minutes.

Burdette earned the right to face Bartoli after outlasting Anne Keothavong 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 on Tuesday night.

A two-time NCAA doubles champion, Burdette teamed with Gibbs to win this year's title one season after bringing home the 2011 crown with Hilary Barte. The 2012 NCAA singles runner-up, Burdette has compiled a 104-22 overall singles record in three seasons.

- Brian Risso