Daniel Kosakowski registers upset win against Tatsuma Ito in qualies – Farmers Classic 2011
Daniel Kosakowski, a rising University College Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruin easily defeated top seed Tatsuma Ito from Japan in the qualifying rounds in an effectively managed two set victory. Ito’s only chance in qualifying for the
main draw is to enter it as a lucky loser because he is the highest ranked player in the qualifiers. Six current and former Bruins, UCLA tennis players, were in attendance on the opening day matches but much to the home crowds’ dismay only Kosakowski filtered
through to the second round.
The Japanese challenger Ito is currently ranked at a formidable 104 in world rankings, considerably higher than his contemporaries. His season’s win loss mark currently stands at 2-2 and his last outing was the Atlanta Tennis Championships
where he lost to Indian Somdev Devvarman 1-6, 3-6 in their second round match. Ito’s opponent, the 19-year-old Kosakowski is a sophomore at UCLA and hails from Downy, California. Kosakowski had been ranked as the No. 1 overall recruit in the country (USA)
in the class of 2010. This match was the two players’ first meeting.
The first set easily closed in Kosakowski’s favour with the score line at 6-0. The 6’-1” American used his large frame to cover the entire baseline with ease and gave a really tough competition to his more experienced opponent.
Ito was unable to ward off even one of the three breakpoint situations which he faced. While Kosakowski was able to successfully convert all three that he faced, rendering his opponent listless. Despite serving at a lowly 50%, Kosakowski managed to rein in
9 0f the 11 serve points to his advantage and these points are eventually what matter in a set.
The second set proved to be a little competitive for Kosakowski than the first. He played the opening game of the second set and the scores steadily rose to the 2-1 mark, with Ito trying hard to put up a fight. Kosakowski registered
two successful serve breaks in the fourth and sixth games of the set to increase the lead to 5-1, leaving his opponent trailing far behind. Ito pulled off a surprising break of serve in the seventh game, limiting Kosakowski to just 15 points in that game.
But this was all that the struggling Japanese could muster and Kosakowski pulverized him in the last game by registering another breakpoint to win the set 6-2. Hence the match closed with a stunning 6-0, 6-2 win for Kosakowski, who easily dismissed the seasoned
top seed Ito from the tournament, at least for now.
Kosakowski will now contest against American Denis Kudla for a position in the main draw of the Farmers Classic. The final round of qualifying matches is scheduled for Monday at the hard courts of Los Angeles Tennis Centre at UCLA,
Straus Stadium.
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