Aljaz Bedene ousts Martin Klizan to reach round two – Serbia Open 2012
Slovenian qualifier, Aljaz Bedene, shocked the Slovakian rising star, Martin Klizan, in straight sets at the Serbia Open 2012 on Tuesday. He nudged up a 6-4, 7-6(6) success against the world number 101 to power into the second round at this ATP (Association
of Tennis Professionals) red clay court event held in Belgrade, Serbia.
Bedene outran the left-handed Slovak after fending off late resistance in almost two hours. After earning this fame, the 22-year-old Slovene assertive advanced into the round of 16 at this ATP World tour 250 series event taking place from 28th
April to 6th May.
The Ljubljana native high-spiritedly entered the SRPC Milan Gale Muskatirovic and kept his serve in the opening game to take the upper hand. He then continued firing powerful forehands to swipe in remaining serves with conviction. Bedene got the breakthrough
in the last game and pocketed the opener with a 6-4 win.
Ranked 156th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Bedene got distracted from his goal towards the second set and suffered the first blow in the fifth game to fall at 2-4. However, he remained in game and carved out his break back
in the eighth game, eventually levelling the scores at 4-4. The Slovene held remaining serves and not only enforced the tie-breaker but prevailed in it to clinch the set with a 7-6(6) score line.
All in all, the Slovenian youngster blasted 11 aces and regardless of committing more double faults, he cashed in two out of four break chances to earn the spotlight. Bedene also produced a lower first serve share of 51 per cent as compared to his opponent’s
64 per cent but superbly marked 33 out of 42 points on it.
The fourth seed, David Nalbandian, awaits Bedene in the second round. The seeded Argentinean received a first round bye after being the top four seed of the tournament.
The Brazilian ace, Joao Souza, will join Bedene in the round of 16. He stomped over the American teenager, Ryan Harrison, in straight sets to progress at this event. The Brazilian kept his entire serves and broke Harrison’s serve three times to manipulate
a 6-3, 6-3 victory.
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