Grega Zemlja outplays Alexander Kudryavtsev in opening round qualies – China Open 2011
Seeded at number seven in the qualifiers of the China Open, Grega Zemlja of Slovenia had to manoeuvre his way to victory in an exciting opening round contest against the unseeded Russian, Alexander Kudryavtsev, on Sunday.
Being played on the outdoor hard courts of the Olympic Green Tennis Center in Beijing, People's Republic of China, the contest witnessed a great display of determination from the seventh seed to come out as the winner. Zemlja took
one hour and forty nine minutes of play to conclude the three-setter 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, to move into the qualifying competition of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 event.
The Slovenian was off to a sloppy start in the opener, letting his opponent take the upper hand in the matchup by dropping the first set early. Zemlja regrouped very quickly in the following set and forced his way back in the game
with powerful ground strokes. His accurate shot execution earned him the second set and the seventh seed continued with his winning momentum to wrap up victory in the final set of the match.
Zemlja delivered 55 per cent of his serve on target, firing nine aces and committing five double faults in the matchup to take down his opponent. He secured 41 out of 52 first serve points, while Kudryavtsev lagged far behind with
just 27 out of 39 points to finish on the losing side in the end. The Russian registered two break points in the matchup but three crushing serve breaks from Zemlja left him answerless in the matchup.
A total of 176 points were played in the contest, with the Slovenian winning 90 and Kudryavtsev closely following him at 86. Zemlja will have to go through the top seeded German, Philipp Kohlschreiber, in the next round to book
a berth in the main draw of the China Open. The German had a narrow escape against the unseeded South African, Rik De Voest, in three sets 7-6(8), 2-6, 7-6(8), in the opening round of the qualifying draw.
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