2010 St. Petersburg Open: Thursday Singles Review
A total of six singles matches were played on Thursday in St. Petersburg. Since all the matches were second round matches, the scoreboard showed some important results as the remaining quarterfinalists for the event were decided.
The first matchup of the day was between the Ukrainian Illya Marchenko and local Konstantin Kravchuk. Kravchuk managed an easy straight set win over Marchenko to sail into the quarterfinals. Kravchuk secured a twin set score of
6-4, 6-4 over the Ukrainian to put him out of the running. He is the third professional to secure a spot for himself in the quarterfinals, alongside Janko Tipsarevic and Mikhail Kukushkin.
The fourth professional to sail his way into the quarterfinals was the German Benjamin Becker. Becker defeated French Paul-Henri Mathieu by 6-4, 6-2. The German had earlier upset defending champion Sergiy Stakhovsky in their second
round match to ensure a spot in the title run. Becker goes on to face Konstantin in their quarterfinal match, later in the tournament.
Unlike his countryman Marchenko, Alexandr Dolgopolov was able to move into the quarterfinals after defeating German Rainer Schuttler. Schuttler upset Viktor Troicki earlier in the tournament to move into the second round. However,
his stroke of good luck did not continue as he was humiliated by Dolgopolov. Dolgopolov managed a straight set win of 6-4, 6-2 over the German.
Another seeded player, Lu Yen-Hsun followed Stakhovsky’s and Troicki’s suit as he fell out of the title run after his match against wild card entrant Dmitry Tursunov. Whether it was the home court advantage or the seeded player’s
bad luck run in the event, either way the cards seem to fall in Tursunov’s favour, who has managed to secure a spot for himself in the quarterfinals. Yen-Hsun suffered humiliation at the Russian’s hand as the latter won the match 6-1, 6-4. Tursunov will face
Dolgopolov in their quarterfinal match today.
It was not a bad day for the seeds altogether. Eighth seed Romanian Victor Hanescu defeated American Rajeev Ram after a three set matchup later in the day. Hanescu managed a tight win in the first set when he won 7-6(1) in tie
break. However, he faced a bump in the title run when Ram won the second set 6-3. The Romanian bounced back as the match entered the deciding set and ultimately won it 6-3 to seal a victory for himself.
Top seed and local favourite, Mikhail Youzhny continued his title run as he advanced into the quarterfinals on Thursday. Mikhail Youzhny faced compatriot Evgeny Donskoy in the last matchup of the day. Youzhny’s title run hit a
minor bump when he lost the first set to his countryman 3-6. However, he came back in the following set to reverse the set and win it 6-3. His good fortune followed as he won the final set 6-2 to ensure a victory for himself. With a combination of both luck
and talent, Youzhny still remains in the title run. He goes on to face Hanescu in a seeded quarterfinal battle.
With all of the quarterfinal spots filled, interesting results were seen on the scoreboard. With only three seeds remaining in the title run, history might just repeat itself with an unseeded professional claiming the title (2009
Champion Stakhovsky was an unseeded player into the tournament last year).
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