Mikhail Youzhny prevails over Philipp Petzschner in the opening round – BMW Open 2012
Sixth seed, Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, faced limited resistance before beating the world number 93, Philipp Petzschner, in straight sets 7-5, 7-5 in the first round at the BMW Open in Munich, Russia on Tuesday. The Russian took
an hour and 45 minutes to win the match in front of his home crowd.
Youzhny got off to a flying start, breaking the German in the second and fourth games to race away to a 4-0 lead. However, Petzschner bounced back to win four in a row, evening out the score at 4-4. Both players held their serve
in the next three games to take it to 6-5 in favour of Youzhny. The Russian struck again at that moment to seal it 7-5.
The 6ft tall pounded a couple of aces and the same number of double faults in the first set. He kept his first serve percentage at 67 and converted 20 of the 30 of them into points. The Moscow, Russia resident utilised all the
three break opportunities he created and put away three of the five threats he came across in the opener.
Youzhny claimed a breakthrough in the sixth game of the second set to grab a 4-2 lead but Petzschner responded immediately to claim next two, levelling the score at 4-4. The Russian hit the decisive blow in the 12th
game, winning it 7-5.
The 29-year-old smacked two aces and 52 percent of the first serves, securing 14 of the 16 points on them. He did well on the replies to his opponent’s serves, as he won 11 of the 25 first and six of the 12 second return points.
The right-hander could not save the only break point he faced but compensated that by converting two of the three he received in the second set.
Talking to the reporters after the match, Youzhny said, "I like to be here and I have some friends here. It’s a nice atmosphere in the tournament. It’s nice weather today, it’s a holiday, it was a full stadium. It looked like we
played a final, there were almost no seats."
The Russian won the title here in 2010, surprising the then world number 11, Marin Cilic of Croatia, in three sets 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the final.
Youzhny is slated to meet Colombian, Santiago Giraldo, in the second round. Ranked 53rd in the world, Giraldo downed Steve Darcis in the previous match.
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