Michael Russell stuns Benoit Paire in round two – Farmers Classic 2012
Local veteran, Michael Russell, shocked top seeded Benoit Paire in straight sets at the Farmers Classic 2012 on Thursday. He nudged up a 7-5, 6-4 victory against the world number 50 to secure a spot in the quarter-finals at this Emirates Airline US Open series event taking place in Los Angeles, United States.
The underdog displayed flawless performance to jolt down Paire in their first encounter. After stealing the show in one hour and 39 minutes, Russell powered into the final eight at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event taking place from 23rd to 29th July in the UCLA campus.
The delighted American stated in a post match interview after recording this upset victory:
"It was extremely difficult, you never know what to expect from him. He keeps you out of your rhythm. I had to dig deep to get through it. He's flashy and sometimes looks like he's not trying. Mentally it's difficult, but I'm proud of myself for winning. I couldn't ask for a better start, I love playing on the hard courts."
Russell high-spiritedly entered this outdoor hard court event. He exchanged four serve breaks and levelled the scores at 5-5. The American capitalised on another break chance in the 11th game and then served out the opener with a 7-5 success. He brushed off two out of six breakpoints he faced but cashed in five out of six break opportunities to inch towards the glory.
Ranked 83rd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Russell lifted his game in the following set. He blocked all three breakpoints he came across to swipe his entire serves and cashed in the lone break chance in the seventh game, eventually sealing the set by winning six games to four.
Overall, the veteran took full advantage of eight double faults Paire committed. He also produced an amazing first serve share of 79 per cent as opposed to his rival’s 44 per cent and availed 37 out of 65 points on it.
Next in line for the local veteran is the sixth seed, Marinko Matosevic. The Australian seed rallied past Germany’s Tobias Kamke in a topsy-turvy match to set up this battle.
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