Evgeny Donskoy bounces over Illya Marchenko to claim crown – Siberia Cup 2012 CH
Local rising star, Evgeny Donskoy, made an epic comeback to overpower the fifth seed, Illya Marchenko, in a three-set thriller at the Siberia Cup 2012 on Sunday. He summed up a 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-2 victory against the world number 139 to capture the title at
this last ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event held in Tyumen, Russia.
The top seeded Russian made a poor start at this indoor hard court event taking place from 19th to 25th November. However, he re-structured and eventually carved out the victory in two hours and 33 minutes.
The world number 139 assertively entered these Russian hard courts. He smoothly held his entire serves and prolonged the set to a tie-breaker. Marchenko jumped to a 4-2 lead in it before closing out the opener with a 7-6(6) win. He dusted away all three
breakpoints he came across but squandered both break chances to drag the set.
The 25-year-old rebounded in the following set. He unleashed flurry of forehands and reeled off opening five games before the Ukrainian could come on the score sheet. Despite losing his serve in the seventh game, Donskoy held his serve once again and clinched
the equaliser with a 6-3 score line. He dusted away two out of three breakpoints he faced and cashed both break chances to get back in contention.
Ranked 81st in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Donskoy maintained his intensity in the deciding set when the match was poised on a knife edge. He winded up four games in a row before Marchenko could hold on. They Russian then
held his composure and bagged remaining serves, eventually clicking the decider with a 6-2 success.
Summing up the performance of highest ranked contender at this event, Donskoy clobbered a slightly lower first serve share of 57 per cent as compared to his rival’s 61 per cent and amazingly marked 48 out of 58 points on it. He hammered eight aces and ended
the match with 102 points as opposed to the Ukrainian’s 87.
As a result, Donskoy captured the title and high-spiritedly entered the ATP Challenger Tour Finals.
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