Michael Berrer crushes Nikoloz Basilashvili in qualifiers – Kremlin Cup 2012
Seeded fourth in the qualifying competition, Michael Berrer from Germany devastated the Georgian challenger, Nikoloz Basilashvili, with a breadstick at the Kremlin Cup 2012 on Sunday. He penned down a 6-1, 6-3 victory against the world number 310 to power
into the final qualifying round at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 Series event held in Moscow, Russia.
The German veteran proved his class at this indoor hard court event, eventually pulling out the victory in 66 minutes against Basilashvili. After earning this fame, Berrer comfortably secured a place in the final round of this qualifying competition.
Berrer thundered into the Olympic stadium. He drew the first blood in the opening game and jumped to a 2-0 lead. After Basilashvili came on the score board in the third game, the German unleashed powerful groundstrokes and reeled off last four games consecutively.
He superbly blocked all five breakpoints he faced and cashed three out of five break chances to pull out the opener with a breadstick.
Ranked 110th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Berrer held his composure in the following set. He got the coveted break in the fourth game and jumped to a 4-1 lead. The German then kept his remaining serves with poise and clinched
the set with a 6-3 score line. He swiped his entire serves without facing any hindrance and converted one out of four break opportunities to his advantage.
On the whole, the 32-year-old spilled more double faults but clobbered a better first serve share of 72 per cent as compared to his rival’s 60 per cent. He also impressively marked 28 out of 39 points on it and finished the match with 63 points.
Up next for Berrer is the eighth seed, Andrey Golubev from Kazakhstan. The Kazakh dumped Netherlands’ Matwe Middelkoop in straight sets to set up this meeting.
The top seed, Victor Hanescu from Romania, face a bitter reality later that day. He was underplayed by the Kazakhstani competitor, Evgeny Korolev, in brutal straight sets in their third meeting. The Romanian availed one out of nine break chances but blocked
only 10 out of 14 breakpoints he came across to suffer this loss.
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