Vladimir Rusin, Alina Artamonova clinch spot in Mixed Doubles quarter-finals – Russia Open Update
The spirited Mixed Doubles team Vladimir Rusin-Alina Artamonova paved a path to the quarter-finals of Russia Open Grand Prix after trouncing Iiya Zdanov-Alina Egoshina during the first round on June 28, 2012.
This opening match was played at a brisk pace and both contenders matched each other’s speed on the court. They finished the tussle in just 16 minutes with final figures of 17-21 and 15-21.
Though, lower ranked Iiya and Alina put a decent fight and earned great deal of admiration from the audience but they could not hit the mark and crashed out of the home event.
On the other hand, the victorious duo played flawless badminton in both sets to seal a splendid straight-set victory.
The twosome of Vladimir Rusin and Alina Artamonova employed interesting strategy as they started both games slothfully but showed unbelievable verve in the final moments.
In first set of the match, they struggled until half time. They were trailing behind in opening rallies 3-0 and then again went down before 8-8.
However, they revived the lost chemistry just before the interval and placed a decent total of 11-8.
After the mid-game break, the opposing team Iiya-Alina tried to narrow the gap but their rivals turned tough nuts to crack.
Vladimir Rusin and Alina Artamonova raised their lead by entering 16-12 margin and then served notice of their supremacy with a decisive figure of 21-17.
The second set also played in the same fashion as both Russian teams remained close initially but then they were poles apart in the later stages of the game.
They started this crucial segment with a couple of gruelling rallies which set the overall pace of the game.
In the beginning, Iiya and Alina gained slight edge with 4-2 margin but they made fatal mistakes later which triggered the collapse.
Vladimir Rusin and Alina Artamonova laid the foundation of their dominance by clinching five points in a row. They made swift progress to 7-3 before ending the first half with an 11-8 total.
After the interval, they doubled the impact with a six-point lead and placed a winning 21-15 score on the board.
Now they will be up against compatriot duo Vitalij Durkin-Nina Vislova in the round of eight in the Russia Open 2012.
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