Denis Istomin takes down Martin Fischer in the opening round – Suisse Open Gstaad 2011
Ranked at number 80 in the world rankings, Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan won his match against the Austrian qualifier, Martin Fischer, in the opening round of Credit Agricole Suisse Open Gstaad, on Monday afternoon.
Being part of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 swing, the competition was featured on the clay courts of the Credit Agricole Arena in Gstaad, Switzerland, with the unseeded Uzbek competitor winning in three sets to claim a spot in the second round of the tournament. The final scores were settled at 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, in the favour of Istomin, as he registered his ninth victory of the running ATP season.
A number of momentum swings were seen in the contest, with both men straining very hard to come on top. Istomin took hold of the game early to bag the opener but Fischer made a tremendous comeback in the following set to level the contest at one set a piece. The Austrian failed to sustain his momentum in the final set and crumbled in the last moments of the game to end his voyage at Suisse Open Gstaad in the very first round.
The opening set took off with a steady start from the two contestants, as the score board kept ticking on even terms. Istomin made the first move in the eighth game when he went on to register his first serve break of the day to lead 5-3 in the opener. He secured 14 out of 17 first serve points in the set and convincingly served out of the opener at 6-3 to get one up in the contest.
The following set witnessed a dramatic turnaround from the Austrian, who broke in the very first serve game of his opponent to lead 2-0. Istomin broke in the next game but Fischer nailed a decisive break in the sixth game to close out the second set at 6-3, levelling the matchup at 1-1.
A trade of serve breaks was seen from both men at the beginning and then in the seventh game of the second set to take the scores to 5-4, with Istomin leading. The Uzbek registered his third break point conversion of the set to conclude victory at 6-4, to get into the second round of the tournament.
Istomin will now square off against the third seeded Russian, Mikhail Youzhny, in the next round of Suisse Open Gstaad. Youzhny got a bye in the first round.
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