Dzmitry Zhyrmont overcomes Di Wu in the semi-finals – Karshi Challenger 2012
Belarusian player, Dzmitry Zhyrmont, made a brave fight back after losing the first set to defeat Di Wu of China 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the semi-finals of Karshi Challenger in Uzbekistan on Friday. Zhyrmont needed one hour and 25 minutes
to undo his opponent in a tough match.
The Belarusian contestant and Wu grabbed their opening serves to square off the proceedings at 1-1. The Chinese participant struck in the third and fifth game to take a 4-1 lead. Zhyrmont pulled one back in the sixth and held his
following serve to reduce the trail to 3-4 but he lost the next two games to go down 3-6.
Wu did not fare well on the serve, as he did not hit any ace and committed one double fault. The Chinese contender hit merely 39 percent of the first serves and won six of the nine points on them. Nevertheless, the 20-year-old
secured 13 of the 17 second return points and utilised three of the six break opportunities he created in the opener.
In the second set, Wu and Zhyrmont won their serve in the first four games and equalised the score at 2-2. The Belarusian player pumped up the accelerator after that, as he clinched four in a row to seal it 6-2.
Zhyrmont served incredibly well, as he bombarded nine aces and bagged 13 of the 14 first delivery points. The Belarusian contestant did not provide any break point to his opponent and converted two of the five of his own in the
second set.
Start of final set was similar to the opener, as Zhyrmont and Wu held their opening serves, taking the score to 1-1. The Belarusian participant hit a blow to his rival in the third and consolidated on it to gain a 3-1 advantage.
Zhyrmont continued with his winning spree and captured three more back to back games to grab it 6-1.
The Belarusian contender fired two aces, converting six of the seven first and the same number of second ones into points in the decider.
Zhyrmont will lock horns with the top seeded Russian player, Igor Kunitsyn, in the final.
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