Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Defending champion Stakhovsky loses in St. Pete

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) -Defending champion Sergiy Stakhovsky was eliminated from the St. Petersburg Open on Wednesday, losing to Benjamin Becker of Germany 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in the first round.

The tournament later also lost fifth-seeded Viktor Troicki of Serbia, who went down 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to German veteran Rainer Schuettler.

Stakhovsky saved a match point and broke Becker in the 12th game of the second set to stay in the match. But Becker never gave the second-seeded Ukrainian a chance in the third set, losing only six points on his serve.

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"It's always difficult to come and defend your title," said Stakhovsky. "I could have won the match, but the chances I had, I didn't use them properly and the match was over. I cannot say that I played badly but he left me no chances after a break in the third set."

After trading sets with 33rd-ranked Troicki, who won his maiden title at the Kremlin Cup on Sunday, Schuettler turned the match his way in the third set. The former top-five player, currently ranked 103rd, saved five break points in the sixth game which lasted 8 minutes and 53 seconds. The 34-year-old German then won three more games to wrap up the win after 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Troicki said he felt tired after playing in singles and doubles finals in Moscow.

"I had some chances in the match but I didn't play good," said Troicki. "My game was defensive. I tried to be focused on my game but it didn't work at some moments, while Schuettler played good, especially in the end of the match."

Also on Wednesday, fourth-seeded Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan beat Potito Starace of Italy 6-2, 6-2, while Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov, who ousted Stakhovsky in the second round of the Kremlin Cup last week, defeated Fabio Fognini of Italy 7-6 (5), 6-4.

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