The Hindu : Schukin to meet Kindlmann

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 19, 2003

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Schukin to meet Kindlmann

By Khalyan N. Ashok

Photo: K. Gopinathan

Russian Yuri Schukin, who defeated Rik De Voest of South Africa to enter the final, going for a forehand return in the ATP Challenger Series at Belgaum on Saturday.

BELGAUM Oct. 18. At the beginning of the event here, it looked unlikely that the summit clash will feature two unseeded players. But then, it was hard to expect anyone playing in the current Challenger Series to come up with a consistent show for three straight weeks. The tour eventually took a toll on all fancied players and the two men left standing in the $ 25,000 ATP Challenger tennis championship were Yuri Schukin of Russia and Germany's Dieter Kindlmann.

Both Schukin and Kindlmann didn't make it past the last 16 round at Dharwad, but the fact that they have reached the final speaks about their grit and perseverance.

The 24-year-old Russian Schukin, ranked No. 8 at home and 255 on the ATP list, punched hard from the baseline with solid groundstrokes to eliminate the fourth seed, Rik de Voest of South Africa, 6-0, 6-3 in 62 minutes in the semifinals at the Nehru Stadium courts today. In the other match, Kindlmann outslugged Branislav Sekac of Slovakia in a baseline contest 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 in about 80 minutes.

Schukin went into the semifinal with the psychological edge of having beaten de Voest twice in their earlier meetings during the season and the Russian kept his slate clean with another facile victory.

De Voest, who had recovered from flu, looked wobbly on the court and struggled to counter his rival's steady returns. The South African's serve too didn't carry much sting and that made the task easier for Schukin, who kept his returns in and forced de Voest to make errors from the backcourt.

Nothing went right for de Voest in the first set from the moment Schukin broke him with a down-the-line winner in the second game. Though he pushed his rival close in a couple of games, de Voest was always at the receiving end and dropped the set quickly without winning a game.

The second set saw better fare as de Voest hit some neat volleys and also got his first serve going.

But Schukin, who made some solid returns, wore de Voest down with prolonged rallies and seized a decisive break in the eighth game for a 5-3 lead.

Three sloppy returns saw de Voest concede a break and as Schukin began to serve for the tie, a spectator exhorted de Voest to fight. De Voest looked at him and said grimly, "I will." But the fight never materialised and Schukin, who was on target with his first serve, completed the swift demolition job. "It's been a hard tour and I am happy to be in the final. I know his game as I have met and beaten him a couple of times earlier. I was confident I could do it today too,'' said Schukin, whose lone Challenger title came at Hamburg a few months ago.

The Sekac-Kindlmann encounter too lacked the fizz, but the German, ranked 278, was able to step up the pace and play some attacking strokes against his 547th-ranked Slovkaian rival who had the edge in the beginning. In fact, Sekac broke Kindlmann in the very first game of the match and kept that advantage intact to lead 5-3 in the first set.

Kindlmann had got into the groove by then and held serve in the ninth game with three aces. He also broke his rival in the 10th game to level the set 5-5. The two traded breaks in the next two games with Sekac taking the 11th and Kindlmann the 12th to force a tiebreaker. A nervous Sekac conceded an early lead with a few mishits and Kindlmann, up 5-2, quickly wrapped up the next two points to claim the set.

Sekac's poor run continued in the second set, as he dropped serve in the first game and found himself under pressure. Kindlmann, who was in control, pounded winners on both flanks and seized yet another break — in the seventh game — to stamp his authority on the match. He won the set and match 6-2.

The results (prefix indicates seedings):

Singles (semifinals): Yuri Schukin (Rus) bt 4- Rik de Voest (RSA) 6-0, 6-3; Dieter Kindlmann (Ger) bt Bransilav Sekac (Svk) 7-6 (7-2), 6-2.

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