Tennis Special Report: Mikhail Youzhny- A look at his performances this year
Born on 25 June 1982 in the city of Moscow, Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny is a professional tennis player from Russia. The twenty eight year old Mikhail is particularly famous for his accuracy and all-court play style. The right handed has been coached by Boris Sobkin for a total of seventeen years.
The Russian achieved his highest world ranking of number eight back in 2008 during the month of January. Youzhny is currently ranked number fourteen in the world by the Association of tennis professionals.
The 1.83 meters tall, Mikhail has a peculiar backhand in the game of tennis. Great varieties of tennis experts regard his backhand to be one of the best on the tour. From both sides, he smashes the ball on the rise, accomplishing a flatter trajectory. Moreover, Mikhail also has a fine court sense and frequently utilizes his drop shots.
The Russian also has the reputation for getting the attention of the spectators while playing on the court. After winning every crucial match, Mikhail gives a military style salute to the crowd. The fourteen ranked tennis player from the men’s side, does it by keeping the racquet above his head and salutes with his right hand while standing on the court. The racquet serves as a hat, since according to his country’s military civilization, one must wear hat while saluting.
He represents Central Red Army Tennis Club, and is also a fervent supporter of FC CSKA.
As far as his performances this season are concerned, the Russian tennis player started off the season by playing at the first Grand Slam, the Australian Open tennis tournament. In the opening round match, the Russian got the better of Richard Gasquet in a total of five sets. The final match score was 6-7(9), 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4), 6-4. Youzhny then managed to defeat Jan Hajek in a three setter clash in the second round of the Aussie. The final match score was 6-2, 6-1, and 6-1. He however, couldn’t participate in the next round matches as a result of his wrist injury and thus retired.
After recovering back, Youzhny next contested at the 2010 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament as his second competition of the season. The Russian did well to make his way into the final of the championship, held in Rotterdam. He thrashed out the top seeded Serbian, Novak Djokovic in the semi final battle in a total of two sets. The final match score was 7-6(5), 7-6(6). In the title clash, the Russian trailed behind his Swedish tennis foe, Robin Soderling 4-6, 0-2 before his withdrawal as a result of his hamstring injury. Despite his retirement, Youzhny managed to improve his world ranking to as high as number fifteen by the Association of tennis professionals.
In his next championship, the Russian made his way into the second consecutive final at the 2010 Dubai Tennis tournament. He got the better of Jurgen Melzer, Janko Tipsarevic, Bjorn Phau as well as Lukas Lacko on his way into the final round. The world number fourteen however lost in the title battle by the second seeded, Novak Djokovic in a total of three sets. The final match score was 5-7, 7-5, 3-6. The defeat came as the Russian’s fourth final loss in a row in an ATP World Tour 500 competition.
At the BMW Open tennis tournament, Mikhail Youzhny hammered down Marin Cilic to capture his first BMW title in Germany. The final match score was 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. It was his third final appearance at this championship having previously taken down by Tomas Berdych back in 2009, as well as Philipp Kohlschreiber back in 2007.
As far as the ongoing 2010 United States Open is concerned, the Russian tennis player, Mikhail Youzhny has reached the quarter final round of the competition after getting the better of Tommy Robredo from Spain in the fourth round in New York. The final match score was 7-5, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
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