Danai Udomchoke, Samuel Groth advance to the second round – Shimadzu Kyoto Challenger 2012
Danai Udomchoke beats Takuto Niki 7-5, 6-3
Thai number one Danai Udomchoke ousted world number 553 Takuto Niki in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 in the opening round at the Shimadzu Kyoto Challenger in Japan on Tuesday.
The fifth seed required only an hours and 11 minutes to post the win over his opponent.
Udomchoke and Niki served quite well in the first set, as they did not give each other any opportunity to break in the first eleven games, taking the score to 6-5 in favour of the former. However, the Thai succeeded in snatching
Niki’s serve in the 12th, sealing it 7-5.
The Bangkok, Thailand resident made a great start in the second set. Udomchoke broke the Japanese in the second game and held his next serve to build a 3-0 lead. The right-hander did not lose any point in his last two serve games,
claiming the set 6-3.
The Thai fired seven aces in the match. Niki was even better as he bombarded 14 but the Japanese failed to save two of the five break points he faced and could not create even one opportunity of his own.
Udomchoke will meet Yuki Bhambri of India in the round of 16.
Samuel Groth defeats Brydan Klein 1-6, 6-3, 7-5
World number 501, Samuel Groth of Australia, bounced back after the thrashing in the opener to upset his compatriot, world number 387 Brydan Klein, 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the first round at the Shimadzu Kyoto Challenger in Japan on Tuesday.
Klein showed why he is ranked better than his opponent, grabbing opening five games to race to a 5-0 lead. Groth managed to open his account in the sixth but nothing more than that, as Klein served it out at 5-1.
Both players started to serve so well in the second set that only one return point was won in the first five games. However, Groth succeeded in making a breakthrough in the sixth game and capitalised on it, capturing it 6-3.
Klein and his opponent held their serve in the first 10 games of the decider to equalise the score at 5-5. Groth bagged four straight points in the 11th to go up 6-5 and consolidated on it to seal the final set 7-5.
The Australian took one hour and 45 minutes to oust his opponent in a tight contest.
Groth is slated to play Harri Heliovaara of Finland in the second round. The Finn downed Shota Tagawa in straight sets 7-5, 6-4 in the first match.
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