Denis Zivkovic defeats Haluk Akkoyun in the first round – Istanbul Challenger 2012
World number 310, Denis Zivkovic, rallied past the local wild card entrant, Haluk Akkoyun, in the first round of the Istanbul Challenger, in Turkey. The American professional battled past his rival, 6-4, 3-6,
6-3, and qualified for the second round of the tournament on Monday afternoon.
Since the start of the opening set, both the players were unable to maintain their initial serves but evened out the score sheet to 1-all. The 31-year-old Turk confidently drew the first blood, securing his 2-1
lead but soon the scores levelled to 3-all. Although, he struggled hard to dominate his rival, the American proved way too challenging and broke his rival’s serve by the second last game to clinch a set-win at 6-4.
In the second set, the Turkish veteran smoothly made his way across and glided to the top, without facing any serious resistance. The scores evened out to 2-all in the fourth game of the set and the American
challenger considerably dropped his efficiency. Akkoyun broke his rival’s serve in the sixth game and marked a 4-2 lead. Zivkovic laboured extremely hard to recover but miserably failed, losing the set by a 3-6 score.
The right-hander local pounced four aces on his opponent but had an average first serve of 57 percent. He clamped away 17 of 20 points and the two break points gifted to her. On the other hand, the American had
a 64 percent initial serve but was unable to attain even a single break point.
In the decider, the 24-year-old American participant returned to the courts, desperate to bag home the victory. Nonetheless, as the Turk seemed to have lost his zeal, Zivkovic nudged him to acquire a 3-love lead.
He broke his opponent’s serve in the sixth game, snatching a 4-2 score. Akkoyun tried to show some resistance but the American closed the set, penning down a 6-3 win.
The American right-hander bombarded his rival with three aces and never double faulted. He also manifested 72 percent first serve accuracy, winning 13 of 18 points on it. On the other hand, Akkoyun had a 61 percent
precision and fortunately converted nine of 17 points.
Zivkovic will contest against the Frenchman, Maxime Teixeira, who defeated Matthias Bachinger, 4-6,6-4, 6-4 in first round.
Tags: