Nikolay Davydenko outguns Mischa Zverev in the first round – Moselle Open 2012
Former world number three, Nikolay Davydenko, prevailed over the German professional, Mischa Zverev, in the first round of the Moselle Open, held at the hard courts of Metz, France. The Russian rival summed up
his 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 triumph in one hour and 47 minutes to reach the second round of the ATP World Tour event.
The eighth seeded Russian challenger defeated 6ft 3in Zverev in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3, in the second round at the Open Sud de France, Montpellier, earlier this season. After this match, the Russian maintains
his 2-1 lead in the head-to-head series.
The right-hander veteran was commenced a sloppy start in the opener and was unable to sustain his serve in the initial part of the set. Zverev displayed his elegant game plan and wrapped up the first five games
in a row, marking his 5-love lead. Although, the Russian senior broke his rival’s serve in the seventh game, it seemed to be a little too late; the German competitor nudged forward and concluded the set with a 6-2 score.
The wild card entrant, Davydenko, gradually picked momentum in the second set and reversed the winning order. He busted Zverev’s first serve at the start of the set, confidently drawing the first blood and clamping
the initial two games, leading the score line by 2-love. However, the 25-year-old German provided his opponent with a tough challenge and dissolved his serve, squaring down the scores to 2-all in the fourth game. Davydenko maintained his excellent run of form
from there and successfully secured the remaining games in a row, concluding the set with a 6-3 score.
Currently ranked 48th in the South African Airways ATP Singles Rankings, the Russian preserved his superior game plan in the final set. He broke the left-hander German professional’s initial
serve to capitalize his lead by a 3-love score. Although, Zverev struggled hard to sustain his lead and managed to break the Russian senior’s serve in the seventh game. Nonetheless, his move was a little slow and unfortunately concluded the decider with a
3-6 loss.
The 185th ranked German achieved 55 percent initial serve accuracy, manifesting 25 of 40 points. His rival had 73 percent initial serve precision and he converted 39 of 66 points in the match. From
eight serve breaks and he pocketed away six present to him.
For the next match, Davydenko will contest against the winner of the match between Gilles Muller and Paul-Henri Mathieu.
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