Jarkko Nieminen dumps Denis Istomin to move into the title match - Apia International Sydney 2012
A cracking encounter between the Finn competitor, Jarkko Nieminen and Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, was witnessed at the Sydney Olympic Park on Friday during the semi-final of Apia International Sydney tournament. Both contenders
fought like champions; an hour and 44 minutes long battle was finally won in straight sets by the inferior ranked Finn with a score of 7-6(12), 6-3.
Scores of the match doesn’t do justice to the level of intensity being observed on the tennis court. Istomin deserved a three-setter, as he fought his heart out; world number 67, Istomin was given a classic challenge by the 30-years-old
Finn. Victory to Nieminen enhanced his head-to-head scores to 3-0 in his favour whilst the Uzbek opponent still awaits his first triumph over the Finn.
Istomin was superior in ranking but the psychological advantage of head-to-head triumphs seemed to have stamped a fear in Uzbek’s mind. Both players started off cautiously and held their respective serves in the first four games.
Crucial serve break for the inferior ranked competitor in the fifth game was the first major impact of the match. Two more games were played with no breaks that were followed by eye-startling rallies in the eighth game between two contenders. Istomin stamped
his authority with a break in that game and levelled the scores at 4-4.
Next four games were interesting but didn’t provide any opportunity to the two players to have any sort of advantage over one another. A tie-breaker round was enforced to decide the match. An emphatic battle in the decider was
portrayed by the proximity of talent and temperament of both players. Every point swung the set in other competitor’s favour and this battle was fought much longer than expected. Finally the inferior ranked experienced contestant, Nieminen broke the shackles
and bagged the first set.
Second set was pretty dry for the viewers, for it lacked the level of improvisation expected from both players. No one was willing to take any sort of risk and played within their respective boundaries. First five games saw no
breaks as the both players kept on capitalizing on their serves. Finally, it was the Finn that improvised a bit considering his opponent was already in a lot of pressure. He was rewarded with a break that was good enough to seal him the place in the finals.
Istomin failed to break in return and lost the encounter.
Jarkko Nieminen locks horns with the French Julien Benneteau in the grand finale of the tournament.
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