Adrian Menendez-Maceiras stuns Rajeev Ram in the first round – Istanbul Challenger 2012 CH
Second seed Rajeev Ram received a straight sets shocker at the hands of the Spaniard, Adrian Menendez-Maceiras, in the first round of the Istanbul Challenger 2012, held at the outdoor hard courts of Turkey. Maceiras
summed up his 6-4, 6-3 win in nearly one hour and 16 minutes on Tuesday.
The world number 92, Ram, displayed a relatively poor performance ever since he stepped on the hard courts. The Spanish right-hander broke his serve in the third game and clinched a 2-1 lead right away. Maceiras
progressed positively in the opener and he brought the score line to his 4-2 in his favour. Although, the American professional struggled hard to dominate the series, he miserably failed and lost the set by a 4-6 score.
The 26-year-old had comparatively better stats than his opponent’s, as he fired three aces and did not double faulted even once. He managed to capitalize 16 of 19 points on his first serve but didn’t give away
a single break chance in the entire set. On the other hand, Ram displayed 70 percent first serve with 13 of 16 points to finish on the losing side.
In the second set, 28-year-old American tennis professional was unable to hold his initial serve and gifted the first two games to Maceiras, bringing the score line to 0-2. After that point, both players gleefully
held their following serves in the set but the Spanish participant came up with a cracking break of serve to register a 4-2 lead. Although Ram tired his best, Maceiras ruthlessly disposed him from the competition, marking a 6-3 win.
Ram managed to clinch 67 percent first serve precision but could only pocket away 15 of 26 points. He received five serve breaks and snatched just three. On the other hand, the Spanish contender smashed three
aces, with a 61 percent first serve precision and exceptionally good point conservation of 13 out of 14.
The Spanish will contest against the Aussie, Brydan Klein, in the second round of the Challenger. He rallied past the local challenger, Baris Erguden, 7-5, 6-1. He displayed a relatively improved game plan this
year but in order to continue his voyage to the top, he needs to adopt a more agile performance on the hard courts.
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