Tatsuma Ito overpowers Konstantin Kravchuk to reach quarters – Kremlin Cup 2012
Seeded eighth in this event, Tatsuma Ito from Japan, tumbled the local qualifier, Konstantin Kravchuk, in a three-set thriller at the Kremlin Cup by Bank of Moscow 2012 on Wednesday. He notched up a 7-6(7), 2-6, 6-3 victory against the 27-year-old to power
into the quarter-finals at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 Series event held in Moscow.
The seeded Japanese lost his track in the second set. However, he re-focused and eventually pulled out the victory in their first meeting. After earning success in two hours and two minutes, Ito comfortably secured a spot in the final eight at this indoor
hard court event.
Ito made a convincing entry at the Olympic Stadium. He smoothly swiped his entire serves without encountering any hindrance. The Japanese squandered two break chances but dominated in the tie-breaker, eventually sealing the opener with a 7-6(7) win.
With the support from his home crowd, Kravchuk made a fitting reply in the following set. He quickly pocketed his entire serves without encountering any challenge. The Russian cashed both break opportunities to go on a four-game tear. He then kept his remaining
serves and clinched the equaliser with a 6-2 score line.
Ranked 63rd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Ito showed his class again in the deciding set. He got the coveted break in the sixth game and jumped to a 5-2 lead. The Japanese held his serve once again and clicked the decider
with a 6-3 success. He blocked the lone breakpoint he faced and converted one out of two beak chances to his advantage.
The 24-year-old encountered 18 aces and spilled a lower first serve share of 56 per cent as compared to his rival’s 69 per cent. However, he impressively marked 37 out of 48 points on it and ended the match with 91 points.
Next up for Ito is the conqueror of the match between second seed Andreas Seppi from Italy and the Dutch challenger, Igor Sijsling.
The Tunisian star, Malek Jaziri, will join Ito in the quarter-finals. He was broken once but capitalised on four out of seven break chances to register a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 success against third seed Viktor Troicki.
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