Carlos Berlocq overcomes Mikhail Kukushkin in the first round – AEGON International 2012
World number 37, Carlos Berlocq of Argentina, fought back from a deficit of one set to rally past the 51st ranked, Mikhail Kukushkin, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the opening round at the AEGON International in Eastbourne, England
on Monday.
Berlocq and Kukushkin won their serve in the first seven games of the opening set to take the score to 4-3 in favour of the latter. The Kazakh hit a blow to the Argentinean in the eighth and capitalised on it to triumph 6-3.
The 24-year-old smacked one ace and did not concede any double fault, putting in 62 percent of the first serves. Kukushkin won most of the points on his powerful deliveries, claiming 13 of the 16 first and seven of the 10 second
ones. The Kazakh did not lose any point on the second returns, as he captured both of them in the opener.
Both contestants played even more steadily in the second set, as they held their serve in the opening nine games to take the score to 5-4 in favour of Berlocq. Kukushkin served to stay in the set at that moment but failed to win
it, going down 4-6.
Berlocq banged in a couple of aces but also committed the same number of double faults in the second set. The Argentinean kept his first serve percentage at 61, bagging 17 of the 20 points on them. The 29-year-old put away both
of the break threats he came across and utilised one of the four opportunities he got.
In the final set, Berlocq and Kukushkin did not allow each other to break serve in the first four games and levelled the proceedings at 2-2. The Argentinean played near error free after that, as he did not allow the Kazakh to claim
even a single game, snatching four in a row and sealing it 6-2.
The 6ft tall hit one ace but once again committed the same number of double fault. The right-hander was almost flawless on the first serves, as he pocketed 11 of the 12 points on them. The Argentinean did not provide any break
chance to Kukushkin and converted both of his own in the decider.
Berlocq required one hour and 40 minutes to down his opponent in a tough match.
The Argentinean will lock horns with Italy’s Andreas Seppi in the second round. Seeded 3rd in the draw, Seppi received a bye in the opening round.
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