Ryan Harrison prevails over Denis Istomin in the quarter-finals – AEGON International 2012
USA’s Ryan Harrison advanced to the last-four stage of an ATP World Tour event for the second time in this season, after beating the 41st ranked, Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, in straight sets 7-6(5), 6-4 in the quarter-finals
at the AEGON International in Eastbourne, England on Friday.
The 53rd ranked American needed an hour and 40 minutes to claim victory in a one sided match.
Harrison put pressure on Istomin right from the start of the match and broke him in the first and third game to build a 3-0 lead. The Uzbek pulled one back in the fourth and held his following serve to reduce the trail to 2-3.
The next four games went with serve to take the score to 5-4 in favour of the American. Serving for the set at that moment, Harrison failed to hold and levelled the proceedings at 5-5. Istomin and the American won their subsequent serves to take the score
to 6-6 and force a tie-breaker. The two rivals went neck-to-neck till 5-5 but Harrison grabbed two in a row after that to capture it 7-6(5).
Both players failed to hit an ace and committed a pair of double faults in the first set. Harrison maintained a first serve percentage of 72, capturing 19 of the 34 points on them. His conversion rate was not that good, as he lost
15 of the 34 first and six of the 13 second delivery points. The American succeeded in saving five of the seven break points he faced and managed to convert two of the six he received.
Harrison and Istomin started the second set by holding their serve in the first two games to equalise the scores at 1-1. Istomin hit a blow to the American in the third and consolidated on it to attain a 3-1 lead. However, Harrison
responded quickly by clinching two in a row and levelling it at 3-3. Serving to stay in the match at 4-5, Istomin could win just two points and lost it 4-6.
The right-hander, Harrison, was unable to deliver any ace once again but made only one double fault this time. The American managed to put in just 55 percent of the first serves and converted 11 of the 17 of them into points. Harrison
could not save the only break threat he came across but compensated that by utilising the two he created in the second set.
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