Andreas Haider-Maurer and Ivo Klec successful in the first round of 2011 Rome Open
Top seeded Andreas Haider-Maurer of Austria earned a hard fought 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 victory over Belarusian Uladzimir Ignatik on Tuesday to reach the second round of red clay courts Rai Open in Rome.
Andreas has been in excellent form over the last few months winning nine out of his last ten matches on the Challengers tour. At 2011 Caltanissetta Challengers the Austrian tennis pro clinched a title to reach his career
high ATP ranking of world number 95.
Commenting on his performance in a post match interview, the Austrian said, "I’m happy with the first final, but I was up 7-6, 5-3, I served for the match. I had big chances to win this title, but it’s the first time. I was
a little bit nervous. Jurgen played good in this moment, and I lost. For sure I had a dream come true because now I’m near Top 100, and this is my next goal. I can learn a lot for the future and I’m happy."
Just over a week ago Andreas made a semifinal appearance at the 2011 Barletta Open where he lost to Filippo Volandri 6-4, 6-3. He looked in same great touch in his opening match here in Rome as he raised the level of his
game to defeat a very competitive player in Uladzimir Ignatik.
Andreas made an aggressive start to the match. He was agile on the court and made his opponent run for his money. In the first set he took a 3-0 game score lead with a double serve break. The Austrian then held on to the
serve games to pocket the set 6-3.
However, in the second set, Andreas lost his concentration and committed a large number of unforced errors. Ignatik on the other hand remained level headed and converted most of the chances that came his way. After earning
a 4-2 lead in the set with some high quality tennis, he broke the serve once more to deny his opponent a straight set victory.
Both players looked to dominate in the final set. Andreas managed to clinch four straight points to make the crucial serve break. With the game score at 5-4 in his favour, Andreas claimed his next service game to end the
match after entertaining 2 hours and 23 minutes of play.
Meanwhile, Slovakian Ivo Klec held his nerves to overcome Daniel Munoz-De La Nava of Spain 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 at the ATP Challengers tournament. The match was played on a highly competitive note as it lasted for more nearly 3
hours.
Klec looked set for a comfortable win after he was leading 5-3 4-3 in the second set but a late fight back from the Spaniard forced the match into the decider. Klec regrouped himself and showed great fighting ability and
determination as he broke the serve twice in the final set to book his place in the next round.
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