Igor Kunitsyn takes down Illya Marchenko to reach the quarter-finals – AEGON International 2011
World number 71, Igor Kunitsyn of Russia, finally ended the AEGON International campaign of the lucky loser from Ukraine, Illya Marchenko, in the second round of the tournament to qualify for the quarter-final rounds.
In the Wednesday’s matchup being played at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club in Eastbourne, United Kingdom, the Russian competitor battled hard to take down Marchenko in a three-set thriller at 6-3, 1-6, 6-2, to enter the final
eight of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 tournament.
It was an evenly poised contest, with both competitors throwing out their best at each other to come out as the winner. Kunitsyn had a tremendous start to the match, devastating the Ukrainian opponent to take the opening set, but
a terrific comeback from Marchenko in the very next set brought thrill into the contest. The Russian finally got hold of the third set to register his sixth win of the running ATP season.
Kunitsyn and Marchenko faced each other for the first time in London last year, when the Russian registered an emphatic victory in three sets. 29-year-old Kunitsyn now leads the head-to-head series against the Ukrainian by 2-0
and has a place in the quarter-final of the tournament.
Marchenko fired seven aces in the match but coughed four double faults as well while delivering 59 per cent of his first serve on target. The Ukrainian had his chances in the game but he frittered away most of them to remain at
a disadvantage in the contest. He had 10 opportunities to break his opponent’s serve in the game, converting just four of them to finish on the losing end. The Russian was very proficient with converting his chances in the game, as he cashed in five out of
five break opportunities en route to victory.
The opening set took off with an early exchange of serve breaks from both contestants. Marchenko gradually lost his way and a second serve break from Kunitsyn closed the opener at 6-3, getting one up in the contest.
Marchenko hit the deck in the very next set and stunned Kunitsyn with two serve breaks to level the contest by winning the second set assertively at 6-1. The Ukrainian couldn’t sustain his winning momentum in the final set and
lost the game eventually to Kunitsyn by dropping the third set at 2-6.
The Russian will face Julien Benneteau of France in the quarter-final battle later this week, as the French competitor was successful against India’s Somdev Devvarman in the second round of AEGON International.
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