Andreas Seppi battles past Mikhail Kukushkin to reach round three – Roland Garros 2012
Italian star, Andreas Seppi, required five sets to outmuscle the Kazakhstani contender, Mikhail Kukushkin, at the French Open 2012 on Wednesday. He nudged up a 6-7(5), 6-2, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory against the Russian-born Kukushkin at this second of the four
Grand Slam event taking place in Paris, France.
The 22nd seed, Seppi, got the better of Kukushkin in a five-set thriller at this prestigious red clay court tournament. After earning this success, the Italian comfortably advanced into the round of 32.
Both contestants displayed solid performance at the court number five and swiftly held their entire serves. The world number 53 hammered 16 winners and hit four aces but failed to get the breakthrough. However, Kukushkin prolonged the set to the tie-breaker
and clinched the opener with a 7-6(5) score line.
Seppi carried his losing ways towards the second set and lost his serve in the opening game. However, he quickly grasped his break back in the very next game and got in action. The Italian capitalised on two more break chances and clicked the set by winning
six games to two.
The Kazakh re-gained his strength in the third set and earned the desiderated break in the opening game to jump to a 2-0 lead. He held remaining serves with poise and broke his rival’s serve once again to register a 6-2 success.
Ranked 25th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Seppi brought his experience into handy and dug his way back in the game. He got the critical break in the second game and jumped to a 3-0 lead before Kukushkin could hold on. The
Italian bagged the last three games and pulled out the equaliser with a breadstick.
The match was poised on a knife edge but the higher ranked contestant kept momentum rolling in the final set. After Kukushkin held his serve in the third game, the Italian unleashed his skills and carved out the victory with a 6-2 score line.
Next in queue for Seppi is the 14th seed, Fernando Verdasco, who hit back to overpower the Luxembourgian star, Gilles Muller, in a four-set nail-biter to set up this date.
Tags: