Alexandr Dolgopolov battles past Lukasz Kubot into second round – Shanghai Rolex Masters 2011
Seeded at number 12 in the event, Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov registered a comprehensive straight sets victory over the 58th ranked Pole opponent, Lukasz Kubot, in the opening round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Tuesday afternoon.
The contest was staged on the outdoor hard courts of the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena, in Shanghai, China, with the world number 18 winding up victory 6-4, 7-6(6), in one hour and forty minutes of play.
It was Dolgopolov’s 35th victory of the running season, earning him a place in the second round of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters Series event. The twelfth seed Ukrainian displayed his power hitting yet another time to drive Kubot out of the tournament with command. Kubot was completely outplayed in the opener but posed some serious resistance in the second set before submitting the matchup.
22-year-old Dolgopolov continued his brilliant form in Shanghai as well and is looking positive to prove his brilliance in the Master Series event. He was bettered by Kubot in some of segments of the game but the 12th seed kept winning crucial points on regularity to come out as the winner in the end.
Although the Ukrainian serve lacked a lot to be desired, Dolgopolov kept his dominance over his opponent with his pin-point hitting. He delivered merely 34 per cent serve on target, securing just 14 points on his first serve in the whole matchup, whereas Kubot’s 59 per cent precise serve earned him 31 out of 46 points. Dolgopolov crafted a total of 10 break opportunities in the matchup and converted three out of them en route to victory.
The first serve break of the day came in the seventh game of the contest, with Dolgopolov getting his impetus to seal the first set at 6-4. A more intense second set was seen, with both contestants trading two serve breaks each to drag the set into a tie breaker round. Dolgopolov edged the Pole in the hard-fought decider and eventually wrapped up victory at 7-6(6), to reach the second round of the Shanghai Masters.
Dolgopolov will meet the Spanish qualifier, Albert Ramos, in the next clash to fight for a berth in the third round of the Shanghai Masters. Ramos took off his opening round in a stunning manner, surprising Croatia’s number one, Marin Cilic, in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, to book a clash with Dolgopolov in the round number two.
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