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Baghdatis blows it against Dolgopolov
MARCOS Baghdatis threw away a one-set lead to crash out of the Moselle Open in Metz to Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov 7-6, 5-7, 3-6 last night.
There was one break of serve apiece in the opening set which eventually had to be decided in the tie-break.
It was the Cypriot number one who kept his cool as he claimed his ninth breaker of the 2011 season to take the opening set, after restricting the third-seeded Dolgopolov to five points in the process.
However, Baghdatis then failed to build on his momentum in the second set as the unorthodox Ukrainian took control of the match and converted his only break chance of the set, while saving all three break point opportunities on his serve, to level the scores.
The decider was somewhat similar to the second set as once again Dolgopolov used one break opportunity, while saving both offered to Baghdatis on his serve, to come out victorious and advance to the third round of the event after two hours and 20 minutes of playing time on the Centre Court.
The 22-year-old Ukrainian served 10 aces and won 79 per cent of points on his first serve, while committing an unusual six double faults.
On the other side of the net, Baghdatis fired only four aces past Dolgopolov which is very low by his usual big-serving standards, but he won a quality 61 per cent of the points on his second serve.
Dolgopolov will now take on the winner of the match between Russian Igor Kunitsyn and sixth-seeded Xavier Malisse of Belgium in the next round, while Baghdatis will have to wait until the first round of the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur next Monday to try and achieve his 200th victory on the tour.
Baghdatis is currently ranked 60th in the ATP South African Airways Rankings but after reaching the second round in Metz, his ranking could improve slightly before Kuala Lumpur trip.
