Lukasz Kubot strains past Tobias Kamke in the first round clash – Swiss Indoors Basel 2011
World number 64, Lukasz Kubot of Poland, wins the two hour and fifty eight minutes battle against the German qualifier, Tobias Kamke, in the opening round of the Davidoff Swiss Indoors Basel on Wednesday evening.
After a couple of brilliant performances in the qualifying draw, Kubot continued his magnificent form in the main rounds as well. He outplayed his opponent in three sets, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, to make it to the second round of the ATP
(Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 event.
29-year-old Kubot improved his record to 17-16 in the World Tour-level matches in the running season, disposing of Kamke in the very first round of the tournament. His sloppy start to the match cost him the first set but the Pole
recovered from the deficit with great mastery to turn the tables on his German opponent in the later parts of the contest.
The Pole qualifier banged in seven cracking aces and committed seven double faults as well but reeled off 49 first serve points the game to overcome Kamke, who lagged far behind with just 32 points. Kubot converted seven of his
nine break opportunities in the matchup and suffered five from the German opponent. Kamke frittered away numerous chances in the contest to finish on the losing side in the end. He crafted 26 break chances in the matchup but converted merely five of them to
let Kubot through to the second round of the tournament.
The action started right from the first set, with both men exchanging a total of five break points to get the early advantage in the matchup. Kubot dropped his serve in the 12th game to lose the opener at 5-7 but came
out firing at his opponent in the following set. He nailed three serve breaks to pocket the second set at 7-5 and carried on with his wining impetus in the final as well to inch closer to victory. Kubot stung two more breaks of serve in the set number three
to close out the contest at 6-2, clearing the opening round of the event.
A huge challenge waits Kubot in the second round, as he has to go through the world number one, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, for a place in the quarter-finals of the Davidoff Swiss Indoors Basel. The top seed Serb had some tough time
against Xavier Malisse of Belgium in the opening round before defeating him in three sets, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, to make a berth in the round of 16 of the tournament.
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