Lukas Lacko prevails over Olivier Rochus in the quarter-finals – Slovakian Open 2012 CH
Ranked 57th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Lukas Lacko, journeyed into the first round of the Slovakian Open 2012. He consolidated his three set win 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 on the eve of Friday against the
Belgian veteran, Olivier Rochus on the indoor hard courts of Decoturf, Bratislava.
The top seeded local challenger had a sloppy start in the opener as he was unable to preserve his serve and this gave Rochus an opportunity to jump forward and secure the initial four games to mark a 4-0 lead. Lacko completely
lost his passion to progress forward and did not show any resistance. As the game continued at the same pace, Rochus terminated the opener with a 6-2 score line.
In the second set, the 25-year-old Slovakian professional unfolded his true potential and started to cruise through the set. He drew the first blood by cashing on his rival’s serve in the fourth game and this provided him a break
for the next half of the match. He completely started to make it a one-sided affair. The Belgian contender started to become restless and started to spill faults all the way long, which reduced his chanced to dominate. The Slovakian participant nudged forward
and stole his long awaited lead by a 6-3 score line.
In the decider, the right-hander Slovakian capitalized on the initial four games, cashing onto his rival’s serve twice. Although in the fifth game, Rochus started to gain momentum but his efforts did not prove fruitful. Lacko took
a decent start and sustained his winning pace by brushing away all the serve break opportunities, closing the match with a 6-2 win.
The 31-year-old, Rochus, manifested 70 percent initial serve precision with 13 of 21 first and two of nine second serve points. The higher ranked local competitor thundered five aces and secured 68 percent initial serve. He managed
to convert 13 of 17 first and four of eight second delivery points. He was successful as he pocketed away two of six break points and his rival was not able to secure any.
For the next match, Lacko, will contest against the fourth seeded, Luckas Rosol.
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