Alexander Kudryavtsev rallies past Roko Karanusic into the quarter-finals of the Status Athens Open
Sixth seed Alexander Kudryavtsev of Russia drowned the Croatian qualifier Roko Karanusic in the second round clash of the Status Athens Open at Athens, Greece on Wednesday. He beat Karanusic in straight sets 6-1, 6-4, taking less
than an hour to book a quarter-final berth in the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event.
The 25-year-old Russian displayed his mastery on the hard courts of Athens once again to dispense out the Croat from the tournament with ease. He cruised through to the opening set of the game with authority but had to work his
way out in the second before concluding victory. There was certainly something lacking in Kudryavtsev’s game but his bleak opponent failed to exploit the weak spots of the Russian.
Karanusic delivered his first serve with 58 per cent precision, while his opponent lagged behind with 48 per cent in the matchup. Kudryavtsev beat his opponent with his amazing proficiency to bag crucial points on regularity. He
won 20 out of 25 first serve points and secured 59 of 102 total points being played in the game.
The Russian serve remained unbroken throughout the contest while Kudryavtsev stung three break points in the match to overwhelm Karanusic. He coughed three double faults in the game but the high error count on part of the Croat
compensated for the minor mistakes Kudryavtsev made. The Russian faced two break points and successfully defended the both of them to remain on top.
Kudryavtsev had a flyer in the opener, breaking the Croatian opponent in the second game to and held his serve to lead 3-0. His first serve exactness remained poor but he collected 27 out of 44 total points in the first set. The
second serve break from the Russian came in the sixth game, leaving him to serve for the set at 5-1. Kudryavtsev eased out of the first set at 6-1 and get the upper hand in the contest.
The Croat posed some resistance in the second set but his strokes failed to meet their marks, landing long and wide of the court most of the time. Single break points from Kudryavtsev proved sufficient for him to seal the contest
at 6-4 and enter the round of eight at the Status Athens Open.
Up next for Kudryavtsev is a tough contest against the third seed Dudi Sela of Israel. He was victorious against Marius Copil in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, to meet Kudryavtsev in the quarter-final of the Challenger Tour tournament
at Athens.
Tags: