Alexandr Dolgopolov moves into the last four; Radek Stepanek departs – Brisbane International 2012
Third seed, Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, bounced back from being a set down to overpower the sixth seed Czech, Radek Stepanek, in the quarter-final of Brisbane International on Thursday. He won the match with a score of
4-6, 6-3, 6-3 after battling for two hours and 16 minutes. Both players were contesting for the second time in their career and 23-years-old Ukrainian levelled the head-to-head tally with 1-1.
It was the same event two years earlier where both players went face-to-face in the second round. Stepanek was the one that clinched the victory after winning an enthralling three-setter. This time Dolgopolov was a much improved
player and Czech’s aging factor also played a major part in his loss. 33-years-old Stepanek ran out of stamina in the third set and clearly looked down and out.
Traditional start to the match saw both players hanging on to their respective serves for the first eight games. The see-saw battle continued with both players not allowing their competitors to attain any sort of advantage.
Third seed smashed five aces in the meantime whilst his counterpart could only manage to strike a single ace.
Major downfall for the third seed contestant was seen when he failed to make a simple return during an exhausting rally and gave advantage to his counterpart that was clubbed with both hands by Stepanek. He broke in the ninth
game and held his serve in the next to seal the first set win. Trailing one set down and pressurized to perform better, Dolgopolov organized himself during the break and came back strong.
Both players held their serves in the first two games and exchanged breaks in the third and fourth to keep the score closely tied at 2-2. Third seed Ukrainian improvised at that stage and managed to bag two successive games
that included one successful break. This was the pivotal point in the set as the sixth seed failed to sneak any more breaks and lost the set. It was such a close encounter that no one could pick the winner at that stage.
Third set had a cautious start and both contenders held their serves in the first four games to take the score to 2-2. Dolgopolov was the one who broke the shackles and dismantled the routine play with his improvisation;
bagged a crucial break but his glory was short lived as his counterpart broke in the next game to level the scores. This didn’t make any difference to the onslaught from the third seed Ukrainian as he clinched another break in the seventh game and then broke
once again in the ninth to round off the set in his favour.
Alexandr Dolgopolov locks horns with the second seed French, Gilles Simon, in the semi-final of the Brisbane International in his next encounter.
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