Jarkko Nieminen struggles past Tobias Kamke to reach the semis – If Stockholm Open 2011
Rated at number 73 in the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Rankings, Jarkko Nieminen of Finland continues to impress everyone with his brilliant tennis, as he outplayed the German qualifier, Tobias Kamke, in the
quarter-final of the If Stockholm Open on Friday.
The unseeded Finn battled hard for two hours and two minutes to wrap up the three-setter, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1, making it to the final four of the ATP World Tour 250 event. It is the first time that Nieminen has qualified for a semi-final
in the current season and his brilliant form depicts he is well up to go even further.
The contest was played on the indoor hard courts of Stockholm, Sweden, with an exciting game play between the two contestants. Kamke was off to an excellent start and clinched the opener to get one up early in the matchup. The
unseeded Finn gradually gathered up pace in the next set and brought the German opponent back on even terms at 1-1. Once getting into his winning groove, Nieminen never looked back in the final set and absolutely devastated Kamke to rocket away to a convincing
victory.
The contest witnessed a number of major momentum swings with both men toiling extremely hard to take the better of one another. Nieminen’s 72 per cent precise serve earned him 42 out of 68 first serve points in the matchup, as
Kamke lagged far behind with a mere 25 to finish on the losing side in the end.
The Finn contestant converted six of his eight break points en route to victory and cashed in most of his opportunities in time to make it through to the round of four. Kamke nailed three serve breaks in the opener to get 1-0 early
but dropped his serve twice in the following set to let Nieminen back in business. The Finn took the second set at 7-5 and then carried on with his demolition job in the final set of the match. Nieminen stung two successive serve breaks to race through the
third set, concluding the match at 6-1 to reach the semis.
Nieminen will take on the former world number four, James Blake of the United States in the semis to earn a title shot in the final of the tournament. Blake received a walkover in the quarter-final, as the unseeded Argentine opponent,
David Nalbandian, pulled out of the matchup on Friday with a left hamstring strain to let the American in the round of four.
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