Juan Carlos Ferrero wins a taxing contest against Mikhail Kukushkin in round 1 - Davis Cup WG 2012
Spanish tennis icon, Juan Carlos Ferrero, put his country in front in the opening round of the Davis Cup tie between Spain and Kazakhstan. He strained past the 61stranked, Mikhail Kukushkin, in an enthralling five-setter;
winning the match 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-4.
Ferrero doubled his head-to-head lead against the Kazak after winning this battle. He defeated him in Estoril Open 2009 as well. The Spaniard started off the match in an emphatic fashion, bagging first three games including
a breakthrough in the second game. Kukushkin could only win a single game before his opponent bagged the first set with couple of breakthroughs under his belt.
The second set was much more competitive. Both players held their serves; scores progressed to 2-2 without any drama. An exchange of breakthroughs kept the scores together at 3-3 and the neck-to-neck battle continued until
the end. Ferrero served to stay in the game but failed to hold it and lost the set.
Kukushkin continued his emphatic comeback and cruised past his opponent at the start of the third set; he won four games in a row with couple of breakpoints under his belt. It seemed like the Kazak will secure another set
victory but the Spaniard halted his way with successive breakthroughs to level the scores at 4-4. No more breakpoints were played by the end of the twelfth game and tie-breaker round was enforced. Ferrero used his guile to turn the tables on his opponent and
completed a remarkable comeback in the third set with a set lead to his name.
Just a single breakpoint in the fourth set went in the favour of the Kazak, who managed to stay in the contest and levelled the set scores at two-all. It was one of the most gruelling contests played in a Davis cup tie; extending
to five-sets with both players fighting their heart out to mount over one another.
The final set witnessed an initial outbreak from the Kazak who broke serve and doubled his lead in the meantime. Ferrero showed stamina and ability to comeback from behind, earning the pivotal breakpoint in the sixth game
to level the scores at 3-3. He continued to mount pressure on his opponent and finally broke serve for the second time in the set to register an emphatic triumph. Both players were completely exhausted by the end of the match and Kukushkin was disappointed
to have not capitalized on the opportunities provided to him.
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