Michael Russell bows out to Dominik Meffert in the second round – Heilbronn Open 2012 CH
Upsets keep coming at the Heilbronn Open and the fourth seed Michael Russell of the United States also suffered a defeat in his second round match of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event. He was outdone
by the 171st ranked local qualifier, Dominik Meffert, in a closely fought three-setter, finishing at 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, in favour of the German.
Rated at number 97 in the ATP World Rankings, Russell failed to contain the fury of his opponent in the contest. The 33-year-old fourth seed had a poor start to the contest and suffered some early blows to drop the opener without
much fight. Russell made a valiant comeback in the next set and ravaged his opponent to claim the set with authority. The German qualifier fired back at the fourth seed in the final set and closed out the contest in style, earning a place in the quarter-final
rounds of the tournament being played in Heilbronn, Germany.
The two veterans evenly matched each other’s skill and abilities in the contest but Meffert kept winning crucial points in the match to come out as the winner in the end. He secured 30 out of 42 first serve points and converted
four out of eight break opportunities in the match to take the better of his opponent.
Meffert drew first blood in the third game of the match, breaking the American’s serve to lead 2-1. The German favourite kept on with his aggressive approach right from the start of the match and kept belting forceful ground strokes
to assert his supremacy over Russell. The fourth seed couldn’t craft a break opportunity in the opener to snatch back the advantage from his opponent and kept trailing in the set. Another heavy blow from the German came in the seventh game, when he broke Russell’s
serve for the second time and served out of the first set at 6-2.
The fourth seeded American finally got his winning impetus in the next set and broke the German serve in the second game to lead 2-0. He shifted to more belligerent strategy and launched a series of forays upon his opponent to
earn another serve break in the eighth game to seal the second set at 6-2.
Intense tennis action was seen in the final set; with both veterans battling extremely hard to get hold of victory but Meffert nailed two timely break points to stand tall in the end. He secured the final set 6-4 and cruised to
the quarter-final draw of the Challenger tournament.
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