Florent Serra dumps Denys Molchanov in the second qualifying round – Australian Open 2012
Ukrainian tennis ace, Denys Molchanov, was outdone by the French superior ranked contestant, Florent Serra, in the second qualifying round of the Australian Open in Melbourne. Both players locked horns for the first time in their
professional career on Saturday and contested for considerable time before the French confirmed the last qualifying round berth in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.
It was a pretty ordinary start to the game, as both players held their serves in the first two games of the set. Serra picked up momentum and played some eye-startling and jaw dropping winners that were novel to the viewers in
the arena. It looked like the French had done his homework and scrutinized the technique of his opponent.
No more serve breaks were seen in the set and Molchanov couldn’t fight back to earn the crucial break point. He was completely hijacked by his opponent because whenever he tried to improvise, his opponent was ready to have a strong
comeback for that. Trailing one set down, the Ukrainian tennis ace saw his defeat in the next set, as he tried all his methods to oust his opponent but all the efforts went in vain; rival was always one step ahead of him.
Second set started with the first break serve triumph for the French. He continued to hammer his opponent and held his serve to double the lead. The inferior ranked Ukrainian managed to slow the tempo of the game. He frustrated
his opponent but wasn’t lucky enough to earn a break serve in the next six games of the set. In a ‘do or die’ situation, Serra suddenly picked up the momentum with his forceful double handed backhand returns. It took the Ukrainian with surprise and he failed
to hold on to his serve.
A fascinating triumph for the French earned him a place in the last qualifying round of the Australian Open. He will have to ensure that he overpowers the German tennis ace, Peter Gojowczyk, in the last qualifying round. It is
a difficult contest considering the dominating performance from the German in his previous match but anything can happen at tennis courts.
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