Mikhail Youzhny crushes Kevin Anderson in opening round – Rogers Cup 2012
Russian star, Mikhail Youzhny, slew the South African number one, Kevin Anderson, with a breadstick at the Rogers Cup 2012 on Tuesday. He clobbered a 6-1, 7-6(3) victory against the world number 32 to secure a spot in the second round at this outdoor hard court tournament taking place from 4th to 12th August in Toronto.
Youzhny, a quarter-finalist at the Wimbledon Championships last month, stayed on track to grab his second year-to-date title after triumphing over the 26-year-old. He warded off late fightback by Anderson to carve out the victory in one and a half hour. As a result, the Russian comfortably progressed into the second round at the Rexall Centre.
The 30-year-old made a drastic start at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters 1000 event. He suffered the first blow in the opening game to trail at 0-1. However, Youzhny made a spectacular reply and went on a six-game killing spree. He capitalised on three out of four break chances to pull out the opener with a breadstick.
Ranked 30th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Youzhny maintained his intensity in the following set. He got the coveted break in the third game to leap to a 3-1 lead. Regardless of losing his edge in the eighth game, the Russian remained focused and took the set to a tie-breaker. He jumped to a 4-0 lead in it before sealing out the set with a 7-6(3) success.
Overall, Youzhny withstood 10 aces and was broken twice. However, he impressively marked 28 out of 39 points on his slightly better first serve share of 60 per cent and converted four out of five break chances to his advantage.
Up next for the Russian is the fifth seed, Janko Tipsarevic from Serbia. The Serbian number two received a first round bye after being a seeded player at this tournament.
The former world number two, Tommy Haas will join Youzhny in the following round. He lost his serve once but cashed in five out of 11 break opportunities to triumph over Argentina’s David Nalbandian. The German needed two hours and 22 minutes to steal the spotlight and progress at this event.
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