Artem Smirnov plonks Colin Ebelthite to reach main draw – Banja Luka 2012 CH
Ukrainian contestant, Artem Smirnov, tumbled Australia’s Colin Ebelthite in straight sets at the qualifying competition of Banja Luka Challenger 2012 on Sunday. He penned down a 7-6(5), 6-4 victory against the world number 690 to power into the main draw
at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event held in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The 24-year-old brushed off early resistance to overpower Ebelthite in almost one and a half hour. As a result, Smirnov high-spiritedly advanced into the main draw at this outdoor clay court tournament.
Smirnov comfortably stepped into the Bosnia and Herzegovina’s dirt. He easily held his opening serve and took the initial lead. The Ukrainian continued hitting angled shots until he suffered the first blow in the 11th game, eventually trailing
at 5-6. However, he not only snatched his break back in the very next game but took a 4-2 lead in it before closing out the opener with a 7-6(5) win.
Ranked 599th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Smirnov maintained consistency in his game in the following set. He cashed in the lone break chance in the third game and leaped to a 3-1 lead. The Ukrainian plucked his entire
serves without facing any trouble and eventually sealed the set by winning six games to four.
All in all, the higher ranked challenger clobbered a better first serve share of 64 per cent in contrast with the Aussie’s 48 per cent and impressively marked 31 out of 43 points on it. He availed both break opportunities and finished the match with 67 points.
Smirnov will face off the tournament’s fourth seed, Antonio Veic from Croatia, in the opening round.
The qualifying top seed, Marcin Gawron, will assist the Ukrainian in the main draw. He battled past Germany’s Marc Sieber in a three-set thriller to progress. The Pole lost his serve three times but capitalised on five out of six break chances to formulate
a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 victory. He took full advantage of eight double faults the left-handed German spilled and sealed the deal with 76 points to earn the spotlight.
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