Roberto Bautista-Agut crushes Evgeny Korolev in the qualifiers – Grand Prix Hassan II 2012
Qualifying sixth seed, Roberto Bautista-Agut, slaughtered the Kazakhstani contender, Evgeny Korolev, with double breadsticks in the qualifying competition of the Grand Prix Hassan II 2012 on Sunday. He jolted down a 6-1, 6-1 success against the world number
282 to advance in the qualifiers of this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event held in Casablanca, Morocco.
The Spaniard dominated throughout the match and eventually crushed Korolev in straight sets in their third meeting. The contestant previously met each other in the qualifying competition here and after earning this victory in 64 minutes, Bautista-Agut maintained
his winning record against the Kazakh.
Bautista-Agut flashed into the Complexe Al Amal and after breaking the Kazakh’s serve twice early in the set, he leaped to a 5-0 lead. After Korolev held his serve in the sixth game, the Spaniard slid his serve once more and pulled out the opener with a
breadstick. He kept his entire serves without facing any barrier and converted two out of six break chances to his advantage.
Ranked 152nd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Bautista-Agut maintained his intensity in the following set and got the critical break in the opening game. After Korolev held his serve in the third game, the Spaniard blasted
forehands and backhands to wipe out the proceeding four games in a row, subsequently sealing the set with an exceptional 6-1 victory.
All in all, the 23-year-old sought 16 break chances and struck 10 aces to rule the match. He also fully capitalised on six double faults his opponent spilled and produced a better first serve share.
Next in line for the seed is his compatriot, Inigo Cervantes, who eased past Russia’s Mikhail Elgin, in straight sets to set-up this meeting. Cervantes broke the Russian’s serve five times to register a 6-2, 7-5 score line in one hour and 21 minutes.
The top seed, Mikhail Kukushkin, faced a bitter fate later that day. He was edged out by the Austrian challenger, Martin Fischer, in straight sets in two hours and seven minutes. The Kazakh cashed in half of the six break opportunities but lost his serve
three times, consequently suffering a 6-7(7), 6-7(6) defeat.
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