Lukasz Kubot battles past Kamil Capkovic to advance into second round – Poznan Porsche Open 2011 CH
Top seeded local wild card enterant, Lukasz Kubot required a third set to overpower Slovakia’s Kamil Capkovic at the Poznan Porsche Open 2011, an ATP Challenger Tour event held on the clay courts in Poznan, Poland. He registered
a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) victory over the 25-year-old Slovak to advance into the second round on Tuesday.
Ranked 60th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour rankings, Kubot was stunned in the opening set but he made a huge comeback to overwhelm threat posed by the Slovak, ranked 353 places below him, on their first
meeting. He secured a second round spot after earning this two hours and forty-three minutes match victory.
The Slovak shocked the highest ranked player by making quick in-roads. He got the coveted break in the very first game and took the lead. Capkovic then exchanged two breaks from fourth to seventh game and held on to remaining serves
to eventually clinch the opener with a 6-4 win.
The Boleslawiec native, Kubot re-focused his strategy in the second set and after exchanging series of break from fourth to sixth game, he broke the Slovak’s serve again in the seventh game to eventually seal the equaliser with
a 6-3 win.
29-year-old local star lost his opening serve in the second game and was trailing 2-4 when he roared back to lower the trail. Kubot then exchanged two more breaks and dragged the set to a tie-breaker. He outclassed the lower ranked
Capkovic by prevailing in it and in the end, bagged the set with a 7-6(5) win.
Overall, the Poll clobbered a lower first serve share of 56 percent as opposed to Capkovic’s 67 percent and earned a plausible 64 percent win on it. He saved only two out of ten breakpoints faced but converted eight out of twelve
breakpoint opportunities to his advantage to level with his rival.
Kubot will next face Italian Marco Crugnola who trashed Polish Michal Przysiezny in straight sets at his home soil to reach this spot.
The Italian produced a lower first serve share of 60 percent as compared to Poll’s 69 percent but registered a spectacular 86 percent win on it. He faced zero breakpoint and founded ten breakpoint chances. Crugnola capitalised
on three of the chances to seal the deal with a 6-3, 6-4 victory in one hour and sixteen minutes.
28-year-old Crugnola committed more unforced errors and double faults but the breakpoint opportunities he founded and converted to his advantage helped him clinch the match.
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