Michael Russell overcomes Donald Young in the first round – Hall of Fame Tennis Championships 2012
World number 96, Michael Russell of USA, came back after getting thrashed in the opener to defeat his seventh seeded countryman, Donald Young, in the first round at the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, USA
on Monday. Russell took an hour and 37 minutes to topple Young 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 and move to the next stage.
Young was the more dominant player in the opening set, as he snatched a break in the second game and won his following serve to grab a 3-0 lead. He struck again in the sixth and capitalized on the double advantage to close it 6-1.
There was almost similar response by Russell in the second set, hitting a blow to his compatriot in the second game and consolidating on it to go up 3-0. The 34-year-old went one step ahead, as he broke again in the fourth to stretch
his lead to 4-0. Young pulled one back to open his account and reduced the trail to 1-4 but Russell captured two back-to-back games to seal the set at 6-1.
Carrying the winning momentum into the final set, Russell bagged a breakthrough in the very first game and held his following serve to build a 2-0 lead. The American sustained his advantage till the end, winning it 6-4.
Both players made a total of five horrible double faults in the match but Russell hit just one ace compared to four by Young. The Houston, USA resident also lagged behind in other serve statistics, as he put in just 50 percent
of the first deliveries and won merely 28 of the 42 points on them. However, the 5ft 8in tall played better than his rival on the crucial moments, converting four of the nine break opportunities he created.
In the post match press conference, Russell said, “I think I started serving better in the second and third sets, even though I was broken once in the second set. I felt more comfortable.”
He added, “In the first set, Donald was playing really well and I was a little out of sorts. He was doing that to me. I didn’t serve well and if you don’t on grass, it’s going to be a long day at the office. I knew he had to win
two sets to win the match. Mentally I kept at it. I think that was the biggest factor.”
Russell will play either Grega Zemlja of Slovenia or compatriot, Rajeev Ram, in the next round.
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