Marinko Matosevic strains past Denis Kudla to reach main draw – Atlanta Tennis Championship 2011
Seeded at number one spot in the qualifying draws, Marinko Matosevic of Australia defeated his seventh seeded opponent, Denis Kudla of the United States, to make it to the main draws of Atlanta Tennis Championships on Sunday afternoon.
The match took place in Atlanta, the United States, as part to the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 event. Matosevic took down the 18-year-old local boy, Kudla, after a three-set thriller 6-1, 1-6, 7-6(3),
to book a berth in the main draws of the tournament.
The enthralling contest lasted for one hour and fifty five minutes, with high quality tennis action being witnessed throughout. A number of major momentum swings were seen in the game but it was the mental resilience of Matosevic
who held his nerve in the intense pressure situations to eventually come out as the winner.
The top seed was off to a flying start in the opening set, banging 75 per cent of his serve on target and securing 11 out of 15 first serve points to get the better of his opponent early. Matosevic got his required impetus in the
fourth game, when he registered his first serve break of the day to get into a 3-1 lead. The Aussie then held his serve and nailed a second consecutive break point to drive Kudla out of the opener. Matosevic convincingly served out of the first set at 6-1,
to get one up early in the contest and it appeared as if the Aussies was well on his way to an easy straight sets victory but it was easier said than done for the top seed.
A tremendous comeback from Kudla stunned everyone, as the American launched a series of forays upon his opponent to convert his first break point of the matchup to lead 3-0 in the second set. Kudla kept going with his aggressive
approach and a second break point conversion in the sixth game left him serving for the set, which he did with perfection to close the second set at 6-1.
Intensity rose to the optimum level in the final set and both men dead locked the scores to 6-6, after a trade of serve breaks in the fifth and sixth games. Matosevic proved too good for Kudla in the tie breaker round and allowed
just three points to his opponent before he sealed victory for himself at 7-6(3).
Up next for Matosevic in the main draws of Atlanta Tennis Championships is the sixth seed Igor Kunitsyn of Russia.
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