2011 PBZ Zagreb Indoors, 1st Round: Alex Bogomolov def. Roko Karanusic
American tennis pro Alex Bogomolov Jr. defeated Croatian player Roko Karanusic in the first round of the 2011 PBZ Zagreb Indoors, winning the match in three sets (6-1, 2-6 and 6-4). The match lasted for one hour and thirty-five
minutes.
Alex Bogomolov is a 27-year-old American tennis player with a career-high ranking of world no. 97. He is currently ranked world no. 165. Meanwhile, 28-year-old Roko Karanusic is a local player who turned pro in 2000; his highest
career ranking is world number 88, and he is currently ranked at world number 450.
The first round match between these two unseeded players took place at the Dom Sportova on Monday. Bogomolov, ranked higher than Karanusic, immediately took the lead and flew around the court hitting shots with abandon. He did
not give Karanusic an opportunity to break during the first set, and won six games out of the first seven to take away the first set 6-1.
However, the second game began with Karanusic looking much more determined. Some fans had hoped that it would be a straight-set victory for Bogomolov; however, Karanusic was reluctant to give any points away without a fight. He
took the first game, but it was not long until Alex Bogomolov levelled the score to 1 all.
In the third game, Roko Karanusic moved ahead quickly to 40-love, before winning one more point to give himself an advantage of 2-1. On Bogomolov’s serve, the American player fought it out to get the score equal at 2-3 before Karanusic
shot ahead to 4-2. Once again, Karanusic had the advantage at 40-all and he moved in with determination to take the second set 6-2. This extended the match into a third set.
The third set began with both players on an almost equal footing. In no time, both Bogomolov and Karanusic had won a game apiece; the scoreline was now 1 all. Alex Bogomolov moved ahead quickly to 2-1, but his opponent caught up
and the score was once again 2 all. This pattern continued until both players had three games apiece and were involved in a 40-love battle for the seventh game.
Alex Bogomolov had the advantage, and he took his chance to tilt the score to 5-3 in his favour. Although Karanusic managed to take one more game after this, Bogomolov proved to be the better player and won the final set 6-4, moving
on to the second round of the tournament.
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