Russia Open 2012: Anatoliy Yartsev powers his way to Men’s Singles pre quarter-finals
Men’s Singles campaigner Anatoliy Yartsev played with great precision and outclassed Kuznetsov Vasily to ensure his presence in pre quarter-finals of Russia Open Grand Prix on June 27, 2012.
Though, the talented Russian wrapped the show in just two games but still he had to face strong opposition from his compatriot shuttler who proved his point in this 36-minute fight.
However, Anatoliy emerged as Champion by registering a tight yet decisive margin of 24-22 and 24-22.
The first game set overall tempo of the match as both contenders pushed each other in all areas of the court and earned a great deal of admiration for a fine show of skills.
They remained close all the way to game point situation as none of them could establish an unassailable lead.
There was lot of drama in first half of the set as Kuznetsov was at top end initially but he could not continue this smooth flight and crashed in the next couple of rallies.
He reinstated his dominance after 4-4 and bagged seven points to place decent total of 11 before the mid-game break.
After one-minute break, Anatoliy started injecting more intensity in the campaign and caught his challenger at 14-14.
Kuznetsov put up a laudable effort at the end but luck was not on his side this time and he had to surrender after reading concluding figure of 24-22.
The second set of the match was also filled with great sensation as both contenders employed unusual tactics to outclass their opponent.
First half of the game completely belonged to Kuznetsov who put his challenger under pressure with 5-1 total initially.
He unleashed a flurry of power packed strokes controlled overall tempo of the game. He manipulated every loophole and got into authoritative position of 11-6 before the interval.
However, he looked completely off colour again in later part of the game and his competitor Anatoliy did not miss this opportunity.
He balanced the scale with 16-16 figure and then stole the limelight with 24-22 score on the board.
Now he will test his skills against Misha Zilberman of Israel and a win will take him into round of eight.
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