Konstantin Kravchuk outruns Evgeny Korolev to enter round two – Kremlin Cup 2012
In a clash between two qualifiers, crowd favourite Konstantin Kravchuk tumbled Kazakhstan’s Evgeny Korolev in straight sets at the Kremlin Cup by Bank of Moscow 2012 on Tuesday. He juggled up a 6-4, 6-3 victory against the 24-year-old to power into the second
round at this indoor hard court tournament held in Moscow, Russia.
The local challenger needed one hour and 10 minutes to overpower Korolev in their first encounter at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 Series event. After earning the fame, Kravchuk took lead in the head-to-head series by 1-0
against the world number 248 and secured a place in the round of 16.
The 27-year-old made a powerful entry at the Olympic Stadium. He drew the first blood in the second game and jumped to a 3-0 lead. Regardless of losing his edge in the seventh game, Kravchuk stayed calm and held his remaining serves. The Russian got the
breakthrough in the last game and pulled out the opener with a 6-4 score line.
Ranked 253rd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Kravchuk kept momentum rolling in the following set. He got the coveted break in the second game and jumped to a 3-0 lead. The Russian held his composure and after keeping his
remaining serves, he sealed the set by winning six games to three.
On the whole, Kravchuk committed five double faults but smashed 16 aces to prevail. He nudged up a higher first serve share of 57 per cent as compared to his rival’s 54 per cent and impressively availed 28 out of 33 points on it.
Next challenge for Kravchuk is eighth seeded Tatsuma Ito who battled past Spain’s Roberto Bautista-Agut in three sets to set up this meeting.
The seventh seed, Carlos Berlocq, will join Kravchuk in the second round. He made a drastic start and suffered a breadstick. However, the Argentine rebounded after that and equalised the set scores. He swiped his entire serves without encountering any barrier
and cashed a break opportunity in the sixth game, eventually sealing the deal in two hours and 13 minutes.
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