Uladzimir Ignatik surprises Jan Mertl in the semi-finals – Tashkent Challenger 2012 CH
Right-hander, Uladzimir Ignatik, defeated the higher ranked Czech native, Jan Mertl, in the semi-finals of the Tashkent Challenger 2012 held at hard courts of Uzbekistan. The Belarusian native penned down his remarkable straight
sets success in a total of one hour on the eve of Saturday.
The Czech veteran held his initial serve of the match to take off in a steady manner. Both participants contested at an average pace and gradually progressed to get the better of one another. Ignatik secured the lead by cashing
his sole break opportunity and drastically improved his pace to get into the driving seat. Mertl was unable to provide his challenger with any resistance and Ignatik continued to serve beautifully by maintaining his composure. Eventually, the Belarusian stole
the opener with a 6-3 score line.
The 30-year-old Czech manifested a relatively average initial serve precision of 57 percent bagging away 12 of 21 first and seven of 16 second delivery points. He lagged behind because of not attaining a single serve break and
his competitor snatched two out of four to dominate him. The right-hander Ignatik had 63 percent first serve accuracy and thumped down the entire 12 first serve but just four of seven second delivery points.
Ranked 195th in the ATP World Tour Rankings, Ignatik, sustained his initial momentum and did not give his challenge a single chance to take him over. He broke Mertl's initial serve, smartly bagging the initial three
games and stamped a 3-love lead by the end of the third game. However, after that point, the two players dusted away one another and preserved their serves. The Belarusian professional nudged forward to claim the last three games with a smooth sweep. Gladly,
he terminated the match with a 6-3 win.
The right-hander Czech native had a relatively better initial serve of 71 percent with a decent conversion of 11 of 15 first and three of six second serve points. In response to that, the 22-year-old Belarusian professional had
an average initial serve of 64 percent with a remarkable score of 13 of 14 first and seven of eight second delivery points.
For the final round, Ignatik will battle against the top seeded Slovakian professional, Lukas Lacko.
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