Alex Kuznetsov ousts Durukan Durmus in the first round – Istanbul Challenger 2012
Right-hander American, Alex Kuznetsov, prevailed over the local challenger, Durukan Durmus, in the first round of the American Express Istanbul Challenger 2012, in Turkey. Kuznetsov penned his 6-1,6-4 triumph
in a total of 51 minutes on Tuesday.
The Turkish underdog displayed a considerably weak game plan in the opener and could not maintain his initial serve. This gave the American an opportunity to bag away the initial two games, bringing the score
line to his 2-0 in his favour. The Turkish wildcard entrant secured the third game but as the match picked momentum, his pace died out. Kuznetsov broke his challenger’s serve in the fifth and eighth game, winning the set with a 6-1 score.
The 25-year-old, Kuznetsov, fired three aces, with a 75 percent first serve accuracy and converted 10 of 12 points on it. His Turkish rival manifested a low first serve accuracy of 47 percent and only bagged
away three of nine first and four of ten second points.
The American commenced the second set and broke his opponent’s first serve, clinching the initial three games to lead with a 3-love score. However, the 18-year-old struggled hard to surprise Kuznetsov this time
round and broke his serve in the fifth and next in the seventh game to even out the scores by 4-all. The American carried on with his winning impetus in the contest and smashed a 6-4 score line to come out as the winner in the end.
The right-hander American showed relatively sloppier stats than the earlier set, double faulting five times, with two aces and an average first serve of 52 percent. He luckily converted 12 of 14 first serve points,
snatching one of three serve breaks presented to him. Durmus pouched away 58 percent initial serve, with 12 of22 first and six of 16 second points.
The American professional will contest against Grega Zemlja in the second round of the Challenger event. Earlier Zemlja after a tough battle defeated the Russian professional 7-6(1), 6-3. As the American has
not rallied beyond the qualifying rounds of the previous major tournaments, he needs to pull off a stronger game plan on the hard courts of Turkey.
Tags: