Alexandr Dolgopolov outmuscles Tobias Kamke in the second round –Australian Open 2012:Tennis Special
Ukrainian number one, Alexandr Dolgopolov, rallied past the German competitor, Tobias Kamke, in a five set nail biter at the Australian Open 2012 on Wednesday. He manifested a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 3-6, 8-6 victory over the 25-year-old German to advance into the third round at the first Grand Slam of 2012 taking place on the hard courts in Melbourne, Australia.
The 23-year-old Ukrainian remained focused throughout the match to overpower Kamke in three hours and 18 minutes in their first encounter. Dolgopolov defeated Australian Greg Jones in five sets on Monday and repeated his winning ways to move one step closer towards the 2000 ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) ranking points.
"Physically I feel fine," said the Ukrainian after the match. "I was pretty concerned from the first match. I wasn't feeling good a bit health wise. I think I played a pretty good game. It was up and down a bit, but he played also some unbelievable shots. He was playing very well."
World number 98, Kamke, confidently entered Hisense Arena at the Melbourne Park and held his opening serve to level the scores at 1-1. He drew the first blood in the fifth game and took the lead. Apart from losing his edge in the eighth game, the German broke Dolgopolov’s serve again in the ninth game and eventually clinched the opener with a 6-4 score line.
The 23-year-old Ukrainian went out of control in the second set as he splashed powerful backhands and forehands to go on a five games killing spree before Kamke could hold on. Dolgopolov then held his serve once more in the seventh game and earned the breadstick in 18 minutes.
After the German kept his serve in the opening game of the following set, Dolgopolov unleashed another barrage of forehands and backhands to reel off next six games in a row. He dusted away all three breakpoints he faced and capitalised on three out of five break opportunities to pocket the second breadstick in almost half an hour.
Lower ranked Kamke redeploy his strategy in the fourth set and got the desiderated break in the opening game. He kept on pinging the balls expertly onto the lines and after earning another break of serve, the German eventually went 4-0 up. In spite of losing his serve in the sixth game, Kamke remained focus and pulled out the equaliser after breaking the Ukrainian’s serve again in the last game. He brushed off three out of four breakpoints he came across and cashed in half of the six break chances to register a 6-3 win.
Ranked 13th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Dolgopolov kept his losing ways in the final set and lost his serve in the fourth game to go 3-1 down. However, he snatched his break back in the very next game and maintained consistency in his games to keep remaining serves. The Ukrainian converted another breakpoint opportunity to his advantage in the 13th game and sealed the decider by winning eight games to six.
Next in line for the 13th seed is the crowd favourite, Bernard Tomic, who knocked out American Sam Querrey with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-3 score line to reach this spot.
The seeded Dolgopolov committed 73 unforced errors which cost him two sets. In order to overpower the Australian number one and to ward off pressure caused by a pessimist crowd, the Ukrainian should improve his game and reduce spilling errors. In addition to this, he should focus on his strengths and should hit more winners in order to overpower the Australian.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
Tags: