Viktor Troicki dumps Lukas Rosol to clear the opening round – Qatar Open 2012
World number 22, Viktor Troicki of Serbia, had an impactful start to the 2012 ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) season, disposing of the 70th ranked Lukas Rosol in the opening round of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open
on Monday. The fifth seed Serb registered victory against the Czech competitor in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6(4), taking one hour and eighteen minutes to book a place in the round of 16 of the ATP World Tour 250 event in Doha, Qatar.
25-year-old exhibited a dominant display to overpower the unseeded Rosol and beat him in every segment of the game. Troicki raced through the opening set with limited resistance offered by his opponent but had to manoeuvre his
way through the second set with his crafty game play. Rosol posed some serious confrontation in the second set and dragged the matchup into a tie-breaker, unfortunately, crumbled in the last moments of the game to finish on the losing side in the end.
“It was a tough match for both of us,” said Troicki after registering his first victory of the year. “We both played very good, so I am happy I have won, the way I played and I hope to continue the rest of the tournament.”
Troicki made his precise serve as his primary weapon of destruction in the matchup, firing 16 thudding aces and reeling off 38 out of 42 first serve points en route to victory. He converted half of his four break opportunities
to take the better of his opponent in a convincing fashion. Rosol frittered away two of his three break chances before submitting to the fifth seed Serbian.
Rosol had a decent beginning to the competition and traded breaks of serve with his opponent earlier in the first set. His fifth seeded opponent stung a second break point to pocket the opener but the Czech never allowed him to
strike another break of serve in the rest of the match. Both men held their serves throughout the second set to impose a tie-breaker round into play. Rosol couldn’t hold on to his momentum in the decider and eventually fell to Troicki at 6-7(4), letting him
through to the second round of the tournament.
Troicki will take on the winner of the contest between the two qualifiers, Roberto Bautista-Agut and Matthias Bachinger, in the second round of the tournament. The two contestants will go one-on-one against each other on Tuesday
and the winner will take on the fifth seed Serbian for a place in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open.
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