Teymuraz Gabashvili, Dusan Lajovic make it to the main rounds – St. Petersburg Open 2011
Seeded at number two in the qualifying draw, Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia, edged past his fellow compatriot Konstantin Kravchuk to make it to the main rounds of the St. Petersburg Open on Monday.
The contest took place on the indoor hard courts of the Petersburg Sports and Concert Complex in Saint Petersburg, Russia, with the two local contestants putting up an enthralling show. Gabashvili battled hard for three hours and
six minutes before sealing the three-setter at 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(7), to move into the main draw of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 event.
It was an evenly poised contest, with both Russians throwing their best each other. Kravchuk took the opening set after a stiff contest but his game went through a slump in the following set to let Gabashvili back in the competition.
With both players winning one set apiece, the decider was sure to be a nail biter and it actually proved to be. Gabashvili dragged the third set into a tie breaker round and after come serious resistance from his fellow countryman, the second seeded Russian
closed out the contest in his favour.
Both contestants registered three serve breaks apiece in the contest and evenly matched each other’s game. Gabashvili will play his opening round match in the main draw against the eighth seeded Russian competitor, Dmitry Tursunov,
on Tuesday.
Unseeded Dusan Lajovic of Serbia is also among the ones who have made it to the main rounds of the tournament. He outplayed Alexander Bury of Belarus in the qualifying competition on Monday, defeating him in straight sets, 6-4,
6-3, to book a spot in the main draw.
Lajovic took 66 minutes to outplay his opponent in the most a manner. He also took down the top seed Turk competitor, Marsel Ilhan, in the second round qualies and carried on with his momentum to dispense out Bury in the final
round as well. The Serb converted three of his five break points in the matchup, while the Belarusian registered merely one out of two serve breaks to finish on the losing end.
The first serve break came in the 10th game of the match when Lajovic sealed the opening set at 6-4 to get one up. An early exchange of serve was witnessed in the second set but the unseeded Serb nailed a crucial breakthrough
in the eighth game to conclude his victory at 6-3. Lajovic will his opening round match against France’s Jeremy Chardy in the main draw of the St. Petersburg Open.
Tags: