Franco Skugor trounces Marko Djokovic in opening round – Banja Luka 2012 CH
Croatian contender, Franco Skugor, tumbled the Serbian wild card entrant, Marko Djokovic, in straight sets at the Banja Luka Challenger 2012 on Monday. He nudged up a 7-6(4), 6-2 victory against the world number 624 to book a place in the second round at
this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event held in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The 24-year-old warded off early resistance to overpower the Serb in almost two hours. The contestants last battled each other at this challenger event two years ago and after clinching the match, he maintained his winning record against Djokovic.
Skugor enthusiastically entered this outdoor clay court event. He drew the first blood in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. He took lead twice afterwards but squandered his edge in the very next game. The set went to a tie-breaker where the Croat dominated
and clinched the opener with a 7-6(4) score line.
Ranked 969th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Skugor kept momentum rolling in the following set. He got the critical break in the second game and jumped to a 2-0 lead. The Croat lost his edge in the very next game but capitalised
on another break chance to go 3-1 up. Apart from losing his serve in the fifth game, Skugor stroke out the last three games and clicked the set with a 6-2 win.
On the whole, the Croat took full advantage of 12 double faults and several errors Djokovic spilled. He produced a slightly better first serve share of 55 per cent as opposed to the Serb’s 54 per cent but amazingly availed 20 out of 35 points on it.
Up next for Skugor is the winner of the match between top seed Blaz Kavcic and the German qualifier, Steven Moneke.
The local lucky loser, Antal Van Der Duim, will accompany the Croat in the round of 16. He failed to block the lone breakpoint he came across but capitalised on five out of 13 break opportunities to manipulate a 6-3, 6-1 score line. Van Der Duim produced
a poor first serve share but spectacularly marked 20 out of 22 points on it.
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