Igor Kunitsyn thrashes Ivan Sergeyev in the semi-finals – Karshi Challenger 2012
Seeded first in the draw, Igor Kunitsyn of Russia completed a one-sided win over the world number 216 from Ukraine, Ivan Sergeyev, in the semi-finals of Karshi Challenger in Uzbekistan on Friday.
The Russian contender dropped just four games in the entire contest, winning it in straight sets 6-3, 6-1 in just an hour and one minute.
Kunitsyn came flying in the match, as he bagged opening three games to take a 3-0 lead. The Russian player maintained his lead till the end to close it 6-3.
The 5ft 11in tall gave a mixed performance on his serve, as he hit a single ace and maintained a low first serve percentage of 44. Though, the 30-year-old managed to win 10 of the 12 points on first and 10 of the 15 on the second
deliveries. In comparison, Sergeyev neither hit an ace nor committed any double fault. The Ukrainian maintained a first serve percentage of 59 and converted eight of the 13 of them into points. The Russian contestant did not come across any break point and
utilised the one opportunity he created in the opener.
Sergeyev held his first serve of the second set to take a 1-0 lead but that was all for the Ukrainian participant, as he failed to claim even a single game after that, getting broke three times and losing six in a row to go down
1-6.
Ranked 145th in the world, Kunitsyn banged in three aces and committed a couple of double faults, hitting just 44 percent of the first serves in the second set. The Vladivostok, Russia resident did not lose even a single
point on the first deliveries, clinching all seven of them. The right-hander also won five of the five points on the second returns. In comparison, Sergeyev delivered a single ace and 81 percent of the first serves, converting just 10 of the 21 of them into
points. The Ukrainian player failed to evade three of the six break threats he came across and could not create even a single opportunity of his own in the second set.
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