Alexandr Dolgopolov dodges Bernard Tomic to reach round three – Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters 2012
Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine escaped an upset against the 19-year-old Aussie starlet, Bernard Tomic, to move into the third round of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. On Wednesday, both players contested a three-setter for an hour
and 40 minutes before the 21st ranked Ukrainian clinched the win 6-2, 5-7, 6-1.
Putting some light on their historical face-offs; it was the Ukrainian who led the head-to-head scores with 3-1 other than this match. He was expected to win the encounter but considering the supreme form of the Aussie teenager,
an upset was always in the cards. However, everything went as per anticipation and no major drama took place at the red clay courts of France.
The 16th seed Dolgopolov commenced the match in stylish fashion; won the first three games and thumped his competitor on the back foot. Tomic was in search for a breakthrough to level the scores but he wasn’t able to
generate a single opportunity to accomplish that task. The Ukrainian, on the other hand, won another breakpoint in the eighth game and bagged the opening set with no trouble at all.
The second set started brilliantly with both players capitalizing on their respective serves. No breakpoints were converted for the first 10 games. However, the tempo of the set favoured the Aussie starlet who had his opponent
under the cosh in the seventh game but couldn’t grab the critical breakpoint at the end.
Tomic kept the pressure and was finally rewarded in a form of a breakpoint during the 11th game of the set. Dolgopolov could only grab just one point in the following game and the third set was enforced to separate the
winner from the loser.
Despite some stunning strokes in the second part of the match, the Aussie starlet looked clueless in the final battle. He was not hitting the returns from the sweet spot of the racquet and missing the simples of the winners. The
23-year-old Ukrainian won two breakpoints on the trot to minimize any chance of an upset.
Alexandr Dolgopolov will meet the reigning world number one, Novak Djokovic, in the third round clash.
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