Ivo Karlovic ousts Blaz Kavcic in the opening round – PBZ Zagreb Indoors 2012
Crowd favourite, Ivo Karlovic, brushed off late resistance to earn a straight set victory against the Slovenian challenger, Blaz Kavcic, at the PBZ Zagreb Indoors 2012 on Tuesday. He registered a 7-6(2), 6-3 score line against the 24-year-old to secure a
place in the second round at this hard court tournament taking place in Zagreb, Croatia.
World number 46, Karlovic, took one hour and 23 minutes to trash the Slovene in straight sets. Both contestants were meeting each other for the first time and after bagging this match, the Croat not only advanced at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals)
World Tour 250 series event but also inched closer to grab his fifth career title.
The Croat entered the Dom Sportova with conviction and easily held his serve in the opening game. Karlovic swiped in remaining serves until he drew the first blood in the sixth game and extended his lead by 4-2. Regardless of losing his serve in the ninth
game, Karlovic dominated in the tie-breaker and clinched the opener with a 7-6(2) win.
The 32-year-old improved his game in the following set. He plucked in entire serves without facing any breakpoint and cashed in two out of three break opportunities, one in the fourth and the other in the last game, to finish the set with a 6-3 victory.
Overall, the match saw several aces from both stars but the Slovene was outclassed by Karlovic in the end. Kavcic saved six out of nine breakpoints he came across and formulated an equal first serve share of 61 percent. However, he sought only one break
opportunity and eventually suffered a straight set defeat.
The eighth seed will next face the winner of the match between the Israeli ace, Dudi Sela, and the German rising star, Andreas Beck.
Austrian top Jurgen Melzer will join the Croat in the round of 16. He swallowed past Germany’s Philipp Petzschner with a breadstick to book this spot.
The Austrian qualifier got the desiderated break in the opening game of the match and took the initial lead. He blasted powerful groundstrokes afterwards and wiped out the last four games successively, eventually registering an exceptional 6-1 success.
Melzer carried his winning ways in the last set and kept his entire serves after warding off both breakpoints he encountered. The Austrian then cashed in the only break chance in the seventh game and triumph the set with a 6-3 win.
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