Alexandr Dolgopolov outclasses Bernard Tomic to reach the quarters – Shanghai Rolex Masters 2011
Seeded at number 12 in the tournament, Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov kept his clean record against 49th ranked Australian, Bernard Tomic, defeating him in the third round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Thursday afternoon.
Being played on the outdoor hard courts of the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai, China, the local crowd witnessed a brilliant exhibition of sheer class and dominance from the world number 18. Dolgopolov took one hour and nineteen minutes to wrap
up victory in three sets, 5-7, 6-1, 6-0, to make a berth in the quarter-finals of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters Series event.
Tomic was off to an excellent start in the contest, bagging the opening set after a stiff contest with the Ukrainian but lost his way through the later two sets to finish on the losing side in the end. Dolgopolov dropped the first set early in the game but
regrouped extremely well in the later parts of the game to simply outplay the Aussie opponent in style.
It was Dolgopolov’s 37th victory of the running season and the third straight one against Tomic in singles encounters. The last time these two men faced each other in Sydney at the start of the current season, with the Ukrainian winning in three
sets 6-7(3), 6-1, 6-2. His Thursday’s victory extended his head-to-head lead by 3-0 against Tomic and a place in the final eight of the Master Series tournament.
Dolgopolov fired 11 cracking aces and reeled off 26 out of 32 first serve points to come out as the winner. He converted eight out of his 12 break points and clinched 11 out of 12 games in the last two sets to root out Tomic from the competition with ease.
Dolgopolov will take on either of the two surprise competitors, Santiago Giraldo of Colombia or Kei Nishikori of Japan, in the quarter-finals. Giraldo and Nishikori will face each other later on Thursday afternoon and the winner will take on Dolgopolov for
a place in the semis of the Shanghai Rolex Masters.
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