Denis Istomin blasts past Igor Kunitsyn to reach round two – Roland Garros 2012
Uzbekistan’s Dennis Istomin crushed the Russian star, Igor Kunitsyn, with a breadstick at the French Open 2012 on Tuesday. He penned down a 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 victory against the world number 101 to set-up a date with the defending
champion, Rafael Nadal, in the second round at this clay court Grand Slam event taking place in Pair, France.
Istomin took down the Russian after displaying tremendous skills and abilities in their second tour-level meeting. The contestants last fought each other at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow two years ago and after earning this success,
the Uzbek not only extended his lead in the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head series by 2-0 against Kunitsyn but also secured a place in the round of 64.
The 25-year-old made a sloppy start at the court number four and endured the initial blow in the opening game to trail at 0-1. However, he made a stunning reply and went on a four-game rampage before the Russian could come on the
score sheet again. Istomin clicked the last two games and registered a 6-2 success.
Ranked 43rd in the South Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Istomin maintained his intensity in the follow-up set and earned the desiderated break in the second game to jump to a 3-0 lead. After Kunitsyn held his serve
in the fourth game, the Uzbek wiped out the last three games and pulled out the set with a breadstick.
Istomin kept his rhythm in the following set and broke his rival’s serve in the opening game to take the initial lead. He then swiped in his entire serves without facing any trouble and cashed in another break chance in the seventh
game, eventually sealing the set by winning six games to two.
Next up for Istomin is the world number two, Rafael Nadal, who swept past Italy’s Simone Bolelli with a breadstick to set-up this battle.
Dmitry Tursunov faced a better fate later that day. He crippled the Japanese star, Go Soeda, with a breadstick to progress at this event. The Russian lost his serve twice but cashed in half of the 12 break chances to clobber a
6-1, 6-4, 6-4 score line.
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