Xavier Malisse outplays Igor Kunitsyn to reach the round of eight – Moselle Open 2011
World number 47, Xavier Malisse of Belgium, cruised through the second round of the Moselle open, defeating the 58th ranked Russian, Igor Kunitsyn, on Thursday night.
The exciting contest lasted for one hour and seventeen minutes before Malisse wrapped it up in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, to make it to the quarter-finals of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 tournament.
Being played on the indoor hard courts of the Arenes de Metz, in Metz, France, the sixth seeded Belgian displayed his amazing tennis skills to register his 22nd victory of the current year. Malisse face some resistance in the opening set from the aggressive Russian but raced through the following set to conclude victory in style.
Kunitsyn took of the opener in his usual aggressive manner but gradually lost his steam in the later parts of the game. He registered two serve breaks in the contest but suffered five from the sixth seeded Belgian to finish on the losing side in the end.
Malisse delivered just 50 per cent of his serve on target but dropped just four points on his serve to take down his opponent. He denied Kunitsyn from breaking serve on three different occasions in the opening set carried on winning points on regularity to come out as the winner.
The action started off in the opener when Kunitsyn broke the Belgian opponent in his very first serve game of the match to lead 3-0 early in the contest. Malisse recovered very quickly and stung his first serve break of the day in the fifth game to bring him down on even terms a couple. After a further exchange of cracking serve breaks from both men, Malisse nailed a crucial break point conversion in the ninth game to serve out of the first set at 6-4, getting the upper hand in the contest at 1-0.
Kunitsyn lost his way in the following set and suffered two straight serve breaks from the sixth seeded competitor to trail 1-5. He failed to recover from the deficit and eventually succumbed to Malisse at 2-6, letting him through to the round of eight.
Malisse will meet the third seeded Ukrainian, Alexandr Dolgopolov, in the next clash to battle for a place in the round of four of Moselle Open. Dolgopolov was successful against the unseeded Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-3, in the second round to reach the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
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