Lukasz Kubot stuns Ivan Dodig in the opening round clash – Apia International Sydney 2012
Rated at number 58 in the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Rankings, Lukasz Kubot of Poland exhibited a brilliant display of skills and determination to surprise the 36th ranked Croat competitor, Ivan Dodig, in the opening round of the Apia International Sydney on Monday. The unseeded Pole took one hour and fifty two minutes to wrap up victory at 7-6(4), 7-5, marching into the round of 16 of the ATP World Tour 250 event.
The contest was played on the hard courts of the NSW Tennis Centre in Sydney, Australia and ended with an upset result in the very first round. Kubot stepped on the court as the underdog but stunned every one with his pin-point power hitting to claim his first victory of the 2012 ATP season. The 29-year-old Pole veteran was off to a cautious start in the opening set and went neck-to-neck with his aggressive opponent to claim the first set in a tie-breaker round. One getting his winning groove, Kubot never looked back in the following set and kept pressing Dodig to submit. The Croatian dropped his serve on the most crucial moment of the match, letting an opening for the Pole competitor to register a surprise victory in the end.
Both contestants played very competitive tennis throughout the contest, keeping the spectators on the edge of their seat all the way. It just appeared to be a matter of time that Kubot cashed in some vital opportunities in the matchup to turn the tables on his opponent in style. He secured 34 out of 45 first serve points in the contest, with Dodig closely following him at 31 points out of his 41 to finish on the losing side in the end.
A tougher challenge waits Kubot in the second round of the Apia International Sydney, as he will go one-on-one against the world number 11 and the former US Open champion, Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina. Being the top seed in the tournament, Del Potro received a bye to have a direct access to the second round of the event and needs to go past Kubot to claim a quarter-final berth in his opening tournament of the 2012 ATP season.
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