Mikhail Kukushkin dismisses Frank Dancevic in opening round – Rogers Cup 2012
Kazakh star, Mikhail Kukushkin, dumped the local wild card recipient, Frank Dancevic, in straight sets at the Rogers Cup 2012 on Tuesday. He juggled up a 6-3, 7-5 victory against the Niagara Falls native to charge into the second round at this Emirates Airline US Open Series event taking place in Toronto, Canada.
The Russian-born Kukushkin showed brilliant skills to outshine Dancevic in their first battle against each other. After earning the fame in one hour and 25 minutes, Kukushkin not only secured a spot in the round of 32 but also inched closer towards his second career title at this outdoor hard court tournament held in Rexall Centre.
Kukushkin entered this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters 1000 event in high spirits. He drew the first blood in the second game and cruised to a 3-0 lead before the Canadian could come on the score sheet. The Kazakh swiped his remaining serves and consequently bagged the opener with a 6-3 win. He was never challenged with any breakpoint and cashed in the lone break chance to inch towards the fame.
Ranked 69th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Kukushkin maintained consistency in his game in the following set. He easily bagged his entire serves without encountering any barrier and capitalised on one out of three break chances to clinch the set with a 7-5 score line.
Overall, Kukushkin struck seven aces and took full advantage of five double faults his rival committed. He produced a slightly better first serve share of 58 per cent as opposed to his rival’s 56 per cent and magnificently availed 30 out of 34 points on it.
Next challenge for the Kazakh is the 14th seed, Richard Gasquet, who received a first round bye after being a seeded player at this tournament.
The former world number two, Tommy Haas will join Kukushkin in the follow-up round. He rallied past the Argentinean contestant, David Nalbandian, in a three-set thriller to charge into the second round. The German veteran was broken once but capitalised on five out of 11 break chances to formulate a 6-2, 6-7(11), 6-3 success.
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