Sergiy Stakhovsky ejects Philipp Kohlschreiber in the first round – Rogers Cup 2011
World number 43, Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine won his opening round match at Rogers Cup by outplaying 42nd ranked German opponent, Philipp Kohlschreiber, on Tuesday afternoon to qualify for the second round draws with ease.
Unseeded in the tournament, Stakhovsky wrapped up victory in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5, taking one hour and thirty nine minutes of play to dispense out the German from the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters Series event. The Ukrainian displayed his belligerent form in the matchup and gave no chance to Kohlschreiber to get his impact on the match at any point.
Stakhovsky cruised through the opening set and blew away his opponent with his power hitting right from the start. Kohlschreiber regrouped a bit in the second set and posed some serious resistance but it wasn’t enough to contain the aggression of the Ukrainian in the game.
The critical difference between the two men was their serve game in the match. Stakhovsky delivered 58 per cent of his serve on target and reeled off 37 out of 43 first serve points, while 48 per cent serve of Kohlschreiber earned him 25 out of 39 points in the matchup. 15 cracking aces in the matchup gave Stakhovsky some un-fought points but e spilled out five double faults as well.
Kohlschreiber had six opportunities to break his opponent’s serve in the matchup but the bleak German squandered away all the six vital chances to remain on the losing side in the end. The Ukrainian was off to a fiery start in the opening set and nailed the first serve break of the day in the fourth game to lead 4-1 early in the matchup. Some clean hitting from the baseline awarded another break point to Stakhovsky, who went on to seal the opening set at 6-2 to get one up in the match.
Intense tennis was seen in the next set, with both contestants exchanging a number of winners and moving the scores on even terms. The Ukrainian was leading the set 6-5 when he had the all-important opportunity to crack in a break point and he cashed in his chance to seal the second set at 7-5, winning the contest against Kohlschreiber in straight sets.
Stakhovsky’s victory over the German competitor sends him in to the second round of the tournament, where he will face the eighth seeded Spaniard, Nicolas Almagro, for a place in the third round. Being the eighth seed in Rogers Cup, Almagro received bye in the opening round to get a direct access to the second round.
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