Ivan Gakhov beat Darwin Blanch 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 in Szczecin, winning the baseline exchanges when it mattered. Gakhov converted four break points to Blanch's two and saved four of the six he faced, enough to offset the American's eight aces to his one.
Gakhov broke immediately in the opening game at 0-1 and again at 1-4 to close out the first set, saving both break points he faced. Blanch responded with a five-game run in the second, breaking at 2-0 and 4-0 behind five aces and a perfect second-serve record. The decider turned on Gakhov's breaks at 1-3 and 1-5; Blanch pulled one back at 2-5 but was broken straight back at 2-6.
The third set was the clearest gap: Gakhov won 8 of 10 first-serve points (80%) and all five second-serve points, while Blanch managed just 5 of 11 behind his first delivery. Gakhov also strung together 10 points in a row in that set and finished with 67 points won to 59.