Nikolay Davydenko, Jarkko Nieminen move to the last eight – ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament 2012
Nikolay Davydenko beats Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-1
Former world number 3 Nikolay Davydenko rallied to beat unseeded Paul-Henri Mathieu in three sets 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-1 in the second round at the 39th ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam on Wednesday.
Davydenko needed two hours and 32 minutes to win the close encounter.
The Russian number three, Davydenko, snatched a break of serve in the seventh game and consolidated on it to claim the set 6-4. Davydenko had a unsatisfactory service performance, as he failed to hit any ace and committed
a couple of double faults.
Mathieu and Davydenko exchanged a break of serve in the first six games to level the score at 3-3. The sent was taken to a tie-break, where Davydenko staged a comeback to equalise the proceedings at 6-6. Mathieu hit a splendid
forehand winner to earn a mini-break and bagged it 9-7.
After losing a tight second set, Davydenko came roaring into the third. The Russian won his opponent’s serve in the second game, moving ahead 3-0. He kept the winning momentum till the end and closed the set 6-1.
Davydenko will take on either Richard Gasquet of France or Alex Bogomolov Jr. of USA in the quarterfinals.
Jarkko Nieminen defeats Lukasz Kubot 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(2)
Finland’s top player Jarkko Nieminen edged past Lukasz Kubot of Poland in three sets 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(2) to qualify for the quarterfinals. The marathon match lasted for two hours and 21 minutes.
Nieminen hit some powerful returns to earn the break in the third game of the first set and capitalised on it to win 6-3. Such was his dominance, on the replies to Kubot’s second serve, that the Finn claimed all the four
points on them.
Kubot and Nieminen broke each other in the first eleven games of the second set, taking the score to 6-5 in the Polish’s favour. Serving to stay in the set at 5-6, Nieminen delivered some poor second serves, losing the game
and set 5-7. Nieminen hit one double fault and won just four points on his second deliveries.
In the decider, both players held their serves until the end and tied the score at 6-6. Nieminen lost just two points in the tie-break, sealing it 7-2.
Nieminen is slated to face the top seed, Roger Federer, in the quarterfinals. The Swiss Maestro moved into the last eight after his second round’s opponent, Mikhail Youzhny, withdrew from the tournament due to an injury.
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