Ivan Dodig slaughters Hiroki Moriya to cruise into round two – US Open 2012
Croatian star, Ivan Dodig, devastated the Japanese qualifier, Hiroki Moriya, with a bagel at the US Open 2012 on Monday. He jolted down a 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 victory against the Japanese rising star to blast into the second round at this major hard court event held in Queens, New York City.
The Croatian veteran needed one hour and 40 minutes to outrun the qualifier. After registering this success in their first encounter, Dodig gained confidence boost and powered into the second round at this last of the four Grand Slam events taking place from 27th August to 9th September.
Dodig, who recorded his first tour-level victory since June at the Queen’s Club, thundered into the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. He smashed powerful groundstrokes to wipe out all six games consecutively. The Croat blocked the lone breakpoint he faced and cashed in three out of four break chances to pull out the opener with a bagel.
Currently ranked 118th in the South African Airways ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Rankings, Dodig maintained his intensity in the follow-up set. He got the desiderated break in the opening game and took the initial lead. After Moriya held his serve in the second game, the Croat unleashed barrage of massive forehands to pocket the following five games in a row. He was never threatened with any hindrance and capitalised on two out of four break chances to seal the equaliser with a breadstick.
The 27-year-old kept momentum rolling in the final set and broke his opponent’s serve in the first game. He continued showing impressive skills and after capitalising on another break opportunity in the fifth game, Dodig leaped to a 5-1 lead. The Croat swiped his serve once more and consequently clicked the decider by winning six games to two.
The Croatian will square off against third seeded Andy Murray from Britain.
Dodig reflected about his next match-up against the Olympic gold medallist, Murray.
"For me it's great. I will be really, really happy to play on a big court. I have some experience with some other guys, but with him it's the first time for me... Of course it's going to be tough, but I have to focus on my game and try to play my best on the court."
The world number four crushed Russia’s Alex Bogomolov Jr. with a breadstick to set up this meeting.
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