Evgeny Donskoy rallies past Nikola Mektic in the qualifiers – Grand Prix Hassan II 2012
Qualifying third seed, Evgeny Donskoy, needed three sets to outclass the Croatian contestant, Nikola Mektic, at the Grand Prix Hassan II 2012 on Sunday. He summed up a 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 victory against the Croat to secure a place in the final round of the
qualifying competition at the Complexe Al Amal in Casablanca.
The 21-year-old found his rhythm in the second set tie-breaker and carried it in the final set to pull out the victory in two hours and 40 minutes. Facing each other for the first time, the Russian comfortably advanced into the final round of the qualifiers
at this ATP World Tour 250 series event.
The 23-year-old made a strong start at this clay court event and after drawing the first blood in the fifth game, he put his nose ahead in the match. Despite squandering his lead in the eighth game, Mektic broke his rival’s serve again in the very next game
and then held his serve to seal the opener with a 6-4 win.
Ranked 145th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Donskoy re-structured his strategy in the second set and swiftly swiped in entire serves without facing any hindrance. He sought three break opportunities but failed to avail any
of them. As a result, the set went to the tie-breaker where the higher ranked contender showed his class and clinched the equaliser with a 7-6(5) score line.
Donskoy kept momentum flowing into the final set and after earning the coveted break early in the set, he took a 3-1 lead. The Russian then held his composure and not only swiped in remaining serves but capitalised on another break chance in the last game
to seal the decider by winning six games to three.
The seed will square off against Spain’s Sergio Gutierrez-Ferrol who stunned the eighth seed, Andrey Kuznetsov, with a breadstick to set-up this battle. The Spaniard failed to brush off both breakpoints he came across but cashed in five out of nine break
opportunities to formulate a 6-1, 6-4 score line. He also struck seven aces and amazingly clicked 21 out of 29 points on his first serve share to dominate in the match.
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