Andrey Kuznetsov downs Thomas Fabbiano to reach quarters – Todi Challenger 2012 CH
Seeded fourth in this event, Andrey Kuznetsov from Russia tumbled the local challenger, Thomas Fabbiano, in straight sets at the Internazionali di Tennis dell’Umbria 2012 on Thursday. He summed up a 6-3, 6-2 success against the 23-year-old to charge into
the quarter-finals at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event taking place in Todi, Italy.
The Russian seed required one hour and 11 minutes to progress into the final eight. The contestants previously fought each other at this tournament three years ago and after earning this success, Kuznetsov maintained his winning record inched towards the
prize money.
Kuznetsov comfortably entered this outdoor clay court event. He kept his opening serve and took the initial lead. The Russian maintained consistency in his game and swiped his entire serves without facing any trouble. He cashed in the single break opportunity
in the sixth game and clicked the opener with a 6-3 win.
Ranked 126th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Kuznetsov kept momentum sailing into the second set. He got the desiderated break in the third game and leaped to a 3-1 lead. After Fabbiano held his serve in the fifth game, the
Russian pocketed the last three games and sealed the set by winning six games to two. He again plucked his entire serves without encountering any breakpoint and converted two out of three break chances to his advantage.
The 21-year-old showed superb skills throughout the battle. He produced a higher first serve share of 60 per cent as opposed to his rival’s 50 per cent and brilliantly clicked 25 out of 30 points on it. He also hammered seven ferocious aces and sealed the
match with 55 points.
Up next for Kuznetsov is sixth seeded Matteo Viola who slaughtered the Belgian qualifier, Arthur De Greef, with a bagel to reach this place.
The top seed, Paolo Lorenzi, also earned the fame earlier that day. He trounced Spain’s Arnau Brugues-Davi in two sets’ tie-breaker to set up this clash. The local seed lost his serve three times but cashed in three out of five break chances to manipulate
a 7-6(3), 7-6(3) score line in just under two hours.
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