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2011 Davis Cup – Team Kazakhstan: Mikhail Kukushkin, the Dark Horse?

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2011 Davis Cup – Team Kazakhstan: Mikhail Kukushkin, the Dark Horse?
Mikhail Kukushkin, formerly a Russian tennis star, started playing tennis at the age of six under the coaching of his father Alexander till the age of seventeen. Currently 23, the young Kazakh has been playing professional tennis
for the last twelve years.  Ranked as the world No. 67, Mikhail started off in 2006 and made his way up the ranking as he proved to be a challenging opponent. However, the Kazakh has dropped down the ranking in the current season from his career high of world
No.58 in 2010.
Mikhail has a performance record of 34 wins and 33 losses in the current season. Better on hard courts, Kukushkin has his best shot along the ground and considers Kremlin Cup as his favourite title.
Having appeared in five Grand Slams, Mikhail has succeeded in winning in only one match. His statistics in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 has been equally disappointing with only three wins in matches of the total five played. However,
the 23-year-old does have a title under his belt as he defeated local favourite Mikhail Youzhny in the title match of the 2010 St. Petersburg Open. This was the Kazakh’s first and to-date only title win.
Mikhail, known for winning all his matches after he wins the first set, has worked himself out in every environment. He has made himself comfortable in playing on clay as well as hard courts. However, grass and carpet do not suit
his technique. Playing a total of 40 matches on hard courts he has won 22 and lost only 18. Similarly his performance on clay shows a even 10-10 mark. The 23-year-old has proved to be remarkable in indoor courts, succeeding in winning 20 out of 32 fixtures
but needs to better his stats for indoor matches.
As his ground strokes have improved, Mikhail has also built himself up during pressure games. Winning 10 out of 23 tiebreakers, he is slowly improving his skills. Playing against the top 10 is never easy. Mikhail has been one on
one against the top ten five times on tour but has managed to win only once.
The former Russian athlete has his ability to take on pressure in the deciding (3rd or 5th) sets as well. His figures for the ATP World tour and Grand Slam show that, the Kazakhstani has won 12 out of 21 matches
he played.
As far as the current year is concerned, Mikhail has not been performing up to his best. He has lost thirteen matches this season and won only six. As the Davis Cup is on its way, Kukushkin is also a major player in the Kazakhstani
team. Though his Davis Cup records are comparatively better than most of his opponents, his form in this season makes it difficult to judge whether he would be able to perform as well as before.
Currently his stats for Davis cup are 10-2. Kukushkin has his next fixtures against Juan Martin Del Potro. As the match is on clay, it is probable that the Argentines would not let the Kazakhstani stand a chance.

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