Jurgen Melzer upsets Alexandr Dolgopolov to enter quarters – China Open 2012
Austrian number one, Jurgen Melzer, stunned the sixth seed, Alexandr Dolgopolov from Ukraine, in a three-set mouth-watering battle at the China Open 2012 on Wednesday. He nudged up a 7-6(9), 2-6, 6-1 victory against the 23-year-old to charge into the quarter-finals
at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 Series event held in Beijing, China.
The Austrian veteran lost his path in the second set at this outdoor hard court event. However, he remained focused and dominated in the final set, eventually pulling out the victory with a breadstick. Battling each other for the first time, Melzer edged
in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head Series by 1-0 against the Ukrainian star and advanced into the last four.
In the opening set, both contenders played their best tennis. Melzer, however, got the upper hand in the end and eventually sealed the opener with a 7-6(9) success. The Austrian swiped his entire serves without facing any hindrance and sought three break
opportunities.
The seed unleashed his true colours in the following set. He reeled off opening four games to take an unassailable 4-0 lead. Dolgopolov then kept his remaining serves with poise and sealed the equaliser by winning six games to two. He dusted away both breakpoints
he faced and cashed in half of the four break chances to get back in contention.
Ranked 37th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Melzer re-focused in the final set. He got the coveted break in the second game and leaped to a 3-0 lead. After Dolgopolov held his serve in the fourth game, the Austrian bagged
the last three games and clinched the decider with a breadstick.
Next challenge for Melzer is the top seed, Novak Djokovic, who crushed Argentina’s Carlos Berlocq with a breadstick to reach this spot. The world number two was broken twice but cashed in half of the 12 break opportunities, subsequently sealing the deal
with a 6-1, 6-3 score line.
The German star, Florian Mayer, will accompany Melzer in the final eight. He dumped the Romanian wild card entrant, Marius Copil, in three sets to occupy this spot.
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