Andre Begemann battles past Michal Milko into the final qualifier – Slovak Open 2012 CH
World number 432, Andre Begemann of Germany, bounced back after dropping the opener to beat the 1120th ranked player from Slovakia, Michal Milko, in three sets 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4 in the second qualifier at the Slovak Open
in Bratislava. It took the German player an hour and 47 minutes to clinch victory in a close contest.
Superb display of serving was given by both players in the first set, as neither of them allowed the other to make even a single strike till the end. The score was levelled at 6-6 and the set was taken to a tie-breaker. They went
neck to neck again till 6-6 but then Milko earned a mini-break and capitalised on it to win 7-6(6).
The Slovakian player fired a couple of aces and made a single double fault, keeping his first serve percentage at 63 and pocketing 19 of the 24 points on them in the first set. None of the two players managed to create any break
opportunity.
In the second set, Begemann and Milko held their serve in the first three games to take the score to 2-1 in favour of the former. The German contestant converted his fourth break point in the following one and then consolidated
on it to attain a 4-1 advantage. Begemann did not allow Milko to bounce back and sealed it 6-3.
The German participant did an impressive job on the first deliveries but he was erratic on the second ones. The 6ft 2in tall player banged in five aces and 80 percent of the first serves, winning incredibly 19 of the 20 points
on them. However, he lost four of the five points on the second deliveries including three double faults.
Begemann and Milko started the final set by winning their opening serves and evening out the score at 1-1. The German national nailed a break in the third and capitalised on it to move ahead 3-1. The 28-year-old maintained his
lead till the end to capture it 6-4.
The sixth seed is slated to meet Finland’s Timo Nieminen for a place in the main draw.
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