Josselin Ouanna rallies past Alexander Lobkov into the second round – Siberia Open 2012 CH
Second seed, Josselin Ouanna of France, survived a meltdown in the second set to overcome the challenge of world number 337, Alexander Lobkov, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the first round of the Siberia Open in Tyumen, Russia. The Frenchman
needed one hour and 42 minutes to register a tough win over Lobkov.
Ouanna and Lobkov made a stable start, as they easily held their serve in the first eight games to square off the proceedings at 4-4. The French contestant succeeded in making a breakthrough in the ninth and consolidated on it
to win 6-4.
Ranked 124th in the world, Ouanna banged in three aces and 75 percent of the first deliveries, securing 17 of the 21 points on them. The 26-year-old also fared well on the second serves and returns, as he converted four
of the seven and six of the nine of them into points. The 6ft 4in tall saved the only break point he faced and converted the one he received in the opener.
Second set went with serve in the opening nine games to take the score to 5-4 in the favour of Lobkov. The Russian player faced strong resistance in the fifth and seventh but managed to put it away to hold his entire serves. However,
Ouanna could not win at that moment and went down 4-6.
Lobkov captured most of the points with the help of his blistering serves, bombarding six huge aces on Ouanna and clinching 16 of the 20 first delivery points. The Russian gave an average performance on the replies to his rival’s
serves, as he managed to win just four of the 16 first and four of the 11 second return points in the second set.
Decider’s proceedings were just like the opener, as Lobkov and Ouanna did not drop their serve in the first eight games and levelled the score at 4-4. The French national hit a blow to Lobkov in the ninth and made the most of it
to triumph 6-4.
Ouanna is pitted against the Belarusian qualifier, Egor Gerasimov, for a place in the second round of this challenger event.
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