Matthias Bachinger, Andrey Golubev move into qualifying competition – Qatar Open 2012
Seeded at number one in the qualifying draw, Germany’s Matthias Bachinger had to labour harder than anticipated to outplay Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia in the second round clash of Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Sunday. The German registered a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, victory over the unseeded opponent to book a place in the qualifying competition of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 event.
Bachinger was off to an excellent start in the opening set but lost his way in the middle parts of the competition to fall on his back foot. The top seed made a brilliant recovery in the final set of the match and breezed past the Slovenian competitor to register a deserving victory in the end.
Despite of an average first serve precision of 55 per cent, Bachinger clinched 32 out of 50 points en route to victory. Bedene evenly matched the top seeded German in many segments of the game but it appeared just a matter of time that the Slovenian failed to hold on some crucial points in the game to finish on the losing side. Both contestants crafted 10 break opportunities each in the entire contest and converted four of them to their advantage.
After claiming the opening set with ease, Bachinger’s game went through a terrible slump to let Bedene back in business. The Slovenian nailed three successive breaks of serve to claim the second set with a breadstick at 6-1 but couldn’t carry on with his momentum in final set. Bachinger regrouped in the set number three and struck two break points to seal a convincing victory to his name at 6-3.
Bachinger needs to take down the seventh seeded Kazakh competitor, Andrey Golubev, in the qualifying competition to earn a berth in the main draw of the Qatar Open. Golubev also registered a comprehensive straight sets victory over Kuwait’s Mohammad Ghareeb in the second round of the qualifiers on Sunday.
The seventh seed exhibited a brilliant display of sheer dominance over his wildcard opponent, giving him absolutely no chance to have an impact over the game. Golubev’s 71 per cent precise first serve earned him 27 out of 34 points and he registered five out of 10 break points to finish the competition in an assertive manner. Ghareeb was seen absolutely helpless in the opening set but posed some resistance in the second one before eventually submitting the match to his aggressive opponent at 5-7.
Tags: