Nikoloz Basilashvili outlasts Yuri Schukin in the first round – Siberia Cup 2012 CH
World number 316, Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili, came back after dropping the opener to defeat the 465th ranked player, Yuri Schukin of Kazakhstan, in three sets 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the opening round of the Siberia Cup
in Tyumen, Russia.
First set was going on serve at the start but then Basilashvili could not win even a single point in the fourth game and then was unable to pull it back in the following one, trailing 1-4. Serving to stay in the set at 2-5, the
Georgian player got broken once again and went down 2-6.
Schukin fired three aces but he also committed a couple of double faults in the first set. The Kazakh national had a very good conversion rate on the first deliveries, as he dropped just one point on them, winning 12 of the 13.
The 33-year-old veteran stood firm against Basilashvili’s first serves, as he won 14 of the 24 points on the first returns.
The Georgian contestant responded in the perfect manner, as he broke Schukin in the very first game of the second set and held his next serve to attain a 2-0 lead. Basilashvili struck again in the seventh and made the most of his
double advantage to capture it 6-2.
The 20-year-old pounded four aces and avoided committing any double fault, maintaining a first serve percentage of 68. The strength of Basilashvili was his conversion rate on serve, as he grabbed 11 of the 15 first and five of
the seven second delivery points. The Georgian participant did not give any break opportunity to Schukin and availed both he created of his own in the second set.
Carrying the winning momentum into decider, Basilashvili hit blows to his Kazakh rival in the third and fifth game to build a 4-1 lead. Schukin pulled one back in the sixth and then held his following serve to cut the trail to
3-4 but then he dropped the following two games to lose it 3-6.
It took Basilashvili one hour and 22 minutes to undo Schukin in a hard fought contest.
The Georgian contender will meet the fifth seed, Illya Marchenko, in the second round.
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