Mikhail Youzhny wins first round clash against Ernests Gulbis – Qatar Open 2012
Qatar Open 2012 continued on January 3, 2012, with an exciting first round match between the seventh seeded Russian, Mikhail Youzhny and Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis, in Doha, where Youzhny barley clinched a win with scores of 6-4,
7-6(4), 6-2.
The match was mainly dominated by the Russian, who kept his offensive game play the moment the match began. Gulbis was not getting much room to play freely but still his efforts were commendable as he kept pocketing points with
his pin-point shots. Youzhny’s service games proved to be slightly lower in productivity as compared to Gulbis’, yet the Russian was ahead because of the flying start he got in the match. Youzhny’s performance went a bit wobble when he could not break any
of the two breakpoints he got against Gulbis, while the Latvian broke one out of five breakpoints that the Russian faced. A great start in the set gave the Russian an extra momentum to maintain a lead and win the set 6-4.
The second set went neck-to-neck, as the scores kept moving with frequent pace, giving the feeling that the set would be a photo finish. A change of attitude was seen in the second set as the players were playing with a good offensive
strategy. Their powerful backhands and drop shots gave them valuable points which were applauded greatly by the spectators. World number 35, Youzhny, faced some serious retaliation from world number 61, Gulbis, who was showed his fighting spirit throughout
the match.
The Russian was looking for an easy win in the second set to seal the match in his name, but Gulbis kept the Russian guessing with his unpredictable shot selection. The second set was a test of nerves for both players, where Youzhny
was fighting to win the match and Gulbis was looking to stay alive in the match. With the second set entering into a tie breaker, Gulbis took advantage of Youzhny’s nervousness, winning the set 7-6(4).
Both players made their way into the third set with a single common aim to emerge as the winner. This time again, the players were showing their guts as the competition got intensified to a new level. Youzhny took an early lead
in the third set by saving his breakpoints and winning points from his first and second serves. Gulbis was unable to win more than two games in the final set which showed the level of pressure Youzhny had applied on the Latvian. The Russian won the third set
6-2, securing the match in his name with scores of 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-2. The last time these two met on the field was at the 2011 US Open where Gulbis won 6-2, 6-4, 6-4. Tsonga will now face Italy’s Flavio Cipolla in the second round of the competition.
Tags: