Ernests Gulbis rallies past Konstantin Kravchuk in the second round – Eckental Challenger 2012 CH
Right-hander Latvian professional, Ernests Gulbis, gave the Russian challenger, Konstantin Kravchuk, a straight-sets defeat in the second round of the Bauer Watertechnology Cup 2012 held at the courts of Eckental, Germany. He consolidated
his victory 7-6(2), 6-1 on the eve of Thursday in approximately one hour and 33 minutes.
Ranked 151st in the South African Airways ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Rankings, Gulbis, confidently drew the first blood, taking maximum advantage of the situation. Nonetheless, the Russian proved
to be an equivalent competition and he started to gain momentum as the game progressed. He equalized the scores after every game and but lost his charm in the tie-breaker round, bestowing the set with a 6-7(2) loss.
6ft 3in Gulbis thundered six aces onto his contender but had a lower initial serve precision of 44 percent. He compensated for the loss by securing 15 of 16 first and 12 of 20 second delivery point. He was only able to secure one
of eight serve breaks, whilst his opponent also secured merely one break point in the entire set. On the other hand, the Latvian player manifested 57 percent first serve precision with 24 of 33 first and 11 of 25 second delivery points in response.
In the next set, the 27-year-old Russian held his serve and nudged up to bag away 1-0 score but immediately the score line evened out to 1-all. Gulbis adopted a more aggressive stance and secured his relevant break in the third
game. He did not give his rival a single opportunity to take the lead and reeled off all the games after that, terminating the set with a breadstick.
The 24-year-old, Gulbis, had a reasonable initial serve accuracy of 54 percent, pocketing away all seven of the first and five of six second serve points. He was fortunate to secure three of seven serve points but his competitor
was unable to capitalize even one. The Russian professional had 53 percent initial serve precision with 12 of 16 first but none of the second serve points, which completely shattered his winning chances.
For the next round, Gulbis will contest against the top seeded Grega Zemlja.
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