Andreev fights back to upset Granollers in St. Petersburg
Source: Agencies |
October 27, 2011, Thursday
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IGOR Andreev of Russia rallied to upset sixth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4) and advance to the second round of the St. Petersburg Open in Russia.
After trading sets, the 117th-ranked Andreev saved a match point while serving at 5-4 down in the decider to force a tiebreaker.
Serving at 5-4 up in the tiebreaker, Andreev landed a precise backhand down the line to earn two match points and then served a winner to close the match.
Andreev said he was struggling with his first serve in the first set.
"But it could have gone either way in the tiebreaker," said Andreev, who lost in a third-set tiebreaker in the first round at the Kremlin Cup last week. "Last week I lost (in a tiebreaker). I decided to play more aggressively and risk today and I won."
With the victory, Andreev, a former top-20 player, ended a five-match losing streak on hard courts.
"It was a very close match," Granollers said. "We both played good but in the tiebreaker Igor (Andreev) was better than me. When you are in the tiebreaker, the match can be decided by two points."
Also in the first round, Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany rallied to beat Carlos Berlocq of Argentina 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-1.
On Tuesday, fourth-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia and American Alex Bogomolov Jr., seeded seventh, advanced to the second round with straight-sets victories, while defending champion Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan made an early exit.
Bogomolov beat Igor Kunitsyn of Russia 6-3, 6-1, while Cilic ousted Ukrainian qualifier Sergei Bubka 6-4, 7-6 (1).
Later, eighth-seeded Dmitry Tursunov beat fellow Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili 7-5, 6-3.
Kukushkin, who was looking for his second title, was beaten by Michael Berrer of Germany 1-6, 6-4, 4-6. Julien Benneteau of France also advanced with a straight-sets victory over Pere Riba of Spain, 6-2, 6-1.
Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic advanced to the second round with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Jeremy Chardy of France.
After trading sets, the 117th-ranked Andreev saved a match point while serving at 5-4 down in the decider to force a tiebreaker.
Serving at 5-4 up in the tiebreaker, Andreev landed a precise backhand down the line to earn two match points and then served a winner to close the match.
Andreev said he was struggling with his first serve in the first set.
"But it could have gone either way in the tiebreaker," said Andreev, who lost in a third-set tiebreaker in the first round at the Kremlin Cup last week. "Last week I lost (in a tiebreaker). I decided to play more aggressively and risk today and I won."
With the victory, Andreev, a former top-20 player, ended a five-match losing streak on hard courts.
"It was a very close match," Granollers said. "We both played good but in the tiebreaker Igor (Andreev) was better than me. When you are in the tiebreaker, the match can be decided by two points."
Also in the first round, Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany rallied to beat Carlos Berlocq of Argentina 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-1.
On Tuesday, fourth-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia and American Alex Bogomolov Jr., seeded seventh, advanced to the second round with straight-sets victories, while defending champion Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan made an early exit.
Bogomolov beat Igor Kunitsyn of Russia 6-3, 6-1, while Cilic ousted Ukrainian qualifier Sergei Bubka 6-4, 7-6 (1).
Later, eighth-seeded Dmitry Tursunov beat fellow Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili 7-5, 6-3.
Kukushkin, who was looking for his second title, was beaten by Michael Berrer of Germany 1-6, 6-4, 4-6. Julien Benneteau of France also advanced with a straight-sets victory over Pere Riba of Spain, 6-2, 6-1.
Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic advanced to the second round with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Jeremy Chardy of France.
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