Ryan Harrison downs Alex Bogomolov Jr. into the second round – US Men’s Clay Court Championship 2012
American teenager, Ryan Harrison, fought back after getting a set down to upset seventh seed, Alex Bogomolov Jr. of Russia, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round at the US Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston on Wednesday.
The world number 65 needed two hours and 18 minutes to beat Bogomolov.
Harrison and the Russian started by holding their serve in the first four games of the opener, squaring off the score at 2-2. Bogomolov drew the first blood, as he broke the American in the fifth game and held his following serve
to attain a 4-2 lead. The Russian maintained his advantage till the end, serving it out at 5-4.
In a similar fashion to the first set, both players started in a steady manner, winning their serve in the first five games to take the score to 3-2 in favour of Harrison. The American struck in the sixth to grab a 4-2 lead and
made the most of it to win 6-3.
With the winning momentum on his side, Harrison came roaring in the decider, as he made breakthroughs in the first and fifth game to race to a 4-1 lead. Bogomolov tried to resist, pulling one back in the sixth but he could not
manage to do anything more, losing it 4-6.
Harrison pounded a total of 13 aces and clinched 47 of the 67 points on the first serves. The American succeeded in putting away nine of the 11 break threats he faced and availed three of the eight opportunities he created in the
match.
The American was coming from a long transit, after representing USA at the Davis Cup in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
The 19-year-old said, about his Monaco-to-Houston transit, "Obviously, it's a very tough turnaround. I wanted to play at night. I'm not sure why (Darby declined to honor the request), but once it was on the schedule, you've got
to go out and try to compete, and that's what I did. I did a very good job of staying focused after getting down an early break. It was another great performance from me mentally to win a match."
The American dictated with his first serves, which exceeded 140 mph. He said, "I've gotten to the point where I can use it on a day like today when I'm not as fresh as I'd have liked. It carried me, kept me in there when I wasn't
feeling that great."
Harrison is drawn to play world number 91, Igor Kunitsyn of Russia, in the round of 16.
Tags: