Lukasz Kubot outlasts Denis Istomin in the first round – St. Petersburg Open 2012
Ranked 76th in the world, Lukasz Kubot of Poland came back fighting after losing the opener to upset the second seed, Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin, in three sets 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the opening round of the St. Petersburg
Open in Russia on Wednesday.
Kubot and Istomin made a stable start, as they held their serve in the first four games to equalise the score at 2-2. The Uzbek star hit a blow to Kubot in the fifth and held his following serve to attain a 4-2 advantage. The Polish
player lost just three points in the subsequent two and evened out the proceedings at 4-4. However, Istomin made another breakthrough in the ninth game and made the most of it this time to close the opener 6-4.
The Uzbek contender neither hit any ace nor committed any double fault, having a first serve percentage of 62 and pocketing 15 of the 23 points on them. On the other hand, Kubot was too erratic on his second deliveries, as he made
five horrible double faults and lost eight of the 11 points on them.
After losing a back and forth first set, Kubot made a stunning start in the second one, grabbing opening four games to race to a 4-0 lead. Kubot pulled one back in the fifth and won his following serve to reduce the trail to 2-4
but he could not come on equal terms, losing it 3-6.
The Polish contender banged in a couple of aces and 55 percent of the first deliveries, converting 10 of the 17 of them into points in the second set. The 6ft 3in tall put away one of the two break threats he came across and utilised
two of the five opportunities he got.
Kubot carried the winning momentum into the final set, striking in its opening game and holding his subsequent serve to attain a 2-0 lead. The Polish participant sustained his lead till the end and captured it 6-4.
The 30-year-old hit one ace and 70 percent of the first serves, winning 17 of the 23 points on them. The right-hander saved all the three break points he faced and converted one of the six he received in the decider.
It took the Polish contestant two hours and 27 minutes to register this win over his rival.
Kubot will face Spain’s 93rd ranked player, Daniel Gimeno-Traver, in the second round.
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