Andrey Kuznetsov trounces Aleksandr Nedovesov in the semi-finals – Lermontov Challenger 2012 CH
Local challenger, Andrey Kuznetsov, defeated the Ukrainian underdog, Aleksandr Nedovesov, in the semi-finals of the Lermontov Challenger 2012 held at the courts of Russia. Initially Kuznetsov received a surprising initial set defeat
by 5-7 but later he nudged forward to sum up the match with his 7-6(5), 6-2 win on eve of Saturday.
Ranked 261st in the ATP World Tour Rankings, Ukrainian participant commenced the match with his powerful serves. He preserved his initial serve in the opener and confidently drew the first blood. However, Kuznetsov did
not back out and evened out the score line after every alternate game. Moving towards the end, the Ukrainian quickly picked pace and grabbed the last two games, marking the set closure with a 7-5 lead.
The right-hander Ukrainian fired five aces onto his rival but double faulted three times. He also had a superior initial serve accuracy of 61 percent, with 17 of 23 points. In comparison to that, the Russian secured 53 percent
initial serve precision with 14 of 16 points.
The second seeded, Russian, turned the winning tables for the second set and busted his rival’s serve. He clinched the opportunity and bagged the initial two games with any hindrance, stamping a 2-love lead. Nonetheless, 25-year-old
Ukrainian struggled hard to sustain his form and broke Nedovesov’s serve in the fourth and the sixth game but he was never able to dominate his challenger. In the later half, both players face a tough challenge, squaring down the score line after every alternate
game. The higher ranked Russian skilfully marked the game closure with a 7-6(5) score.
In the decider, 21-year-old, Kuznetsov held his initial serve and drew the first blood. He completely dissolved his rival’s confidence by breaking his serve in the fourth game. The right-hander Ukrainian was unable to secure even
a single point and Kuznetsov swept the last two games, terminating the set with his 6-2 win.
The world number 91, Russian, displayed a comparatively weaker initial serve precision of 64 percent, converting 14 of 18 first and just five of 10 second delivery points. His rival stamped 68 percent initial serve precision with
15 of 26 first and four of 12 second serve points. He received four serve breaks but he was not capable to capitalize on a single one.
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