Ivan Sergeyev upsets Dusan Lajovic in pre-quarters – Banja Luka 2012 CH
Ukrainian challenger, Ivan Sergeyev, hit back to shock the fifth seed, Dusan Lajovic from Serbia, in a three-set nail-biter at the Banja Luka Challenger 2012 on Wednesday. He juggled up a 6-7(2), 6-2, 7-5 success over the Serbian seed to progress into the quarter-finals at this outdoor clay court event taking place in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The 24-year-old needed almost three hours to triumph over the world number 138 in their second meeting. After stealing the limelight, the Ukrainian avenged his loss at the Samarkand Challenger last month and booked a spot in the final eight at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event taking place from 10th to 16th September.
The Belgrade native made a powerful entry at the Bosnian courts. He suffered the first blow in the third game and fell at 1-2. However, Lajovic not only recovered in the eighth game but remained calm, eventually pro-longing the set to a tie-breaker. He cruised to a 4-1 lead in it before closing out the opener with a 7-6(2) win.
Sergeyev got in action in the following set. He got the coveted break in the second game and leaped to a 3-0 lead. The Ukrainian impressively warded off all four breakpoints he faced to keep his remaining serves. Sergeyev availed another break opportunity in the last game and clinched the equaliser with a 6-2 score line.
Ranked 196th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Sergeyev re-gained his strength after losing the opening game of the final set. He wiped out three games in a row before losing his edge in the fifth game. Apart from losing his serve again in the seventh game, the Ukrainian stayed calm and clicked the decider with a 7-5 success. He failed to block all three breakpoints he encountered but cashed in four out of eight break chances to steal the show.
The Dniepropetrovsk resident clobbered a lower first serve share but took full advantage of seven double faults Lajovic coughed.
Up next for Sergeyev is the German challenger, Peter Torebko, who received a walkover against his second seeded compatriot, Bjorn Phau, to set up this battle.
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