Alex Kuznetsov upsets Uladzimir Ignatik in second round – Tiburon Challenger 2011
Ukrainian born American, Alex Kuznetsov, locked horns with Belarusian, Uladzimir Ignatik in the second round of Tiburon Challenger, hosted in California, USA, on October 13th. First encounter between the two contenders
saw the American International taking the triumph in straight sets 7-6(8), 7-5. It was one of the most fascinating matches in the tournament and lasted for an hour and 48 minutes. Surprisingly, 24-year-old now leads the head-to-head tally with 1-0.
Kuznetsov stepped in the match with a shaky run of form recently, having won five of his last nine encounters whilst on the other hand, Ignatik, was going through a terrible time losing five of his last nine encounters. Sizeable
crowd gathered up to watch this epic encounter between the two contestants and they were not disappointed.
The First set kicked-off as expected with both players capitalizing on their serves. Surprisingly neither of the two players could break their opponent’s serve throughout the first set and this was quiet mesmerizing to watch. The
sea-saw battle of two players went on until the twelfth set with both players not willing to lose on their serves. It entered the match into the tie-breaker; this was the most exciting time of the match as the tie-breaker extended than normal and finally the
American managed to register a 7-6(8) victory.
Eight aces were scored in the first set, five from the winner and two from his opponent. Both players saved all break-point opportunities for their counterparts and crowd loved every moment of it. With a difference of just three
points, Ukrainian born registered a victory with 47 points in total.
The excitement of the first set was carried forward in the second set as Ignatik broke his opponent’s serve for the first time in the match, in the fourth game of the set. However, Kuznetsov immediately broke back and held serve
to keep the score at level terms. Breaking his opponent for the second time, Kuznetsov was able to go 6-5 in the lead before serving out the set at 7-5.
Doing away with Ignatik, Kuznetsov now moves into the quarterfinal where he will play compatriot Sam Querrey.
Third seeded Querrey required only seventy minutes as he destroyed Bosnian Amer Delic in straight sets registering a simple, easy 6-4, 6-2 win.
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