Arnau Brugues-Davi defeats Marsel Ilhan in first qualifying round – Dubai Championships 2012
Spanish tennis professional, Arnau Brugues-Davi, defeated the fourth seed Turkish contestant, Marsel Ilhan, in the opening qualifying round of the Dubai Duty Free Championship on Saturday. He crushed the superior ranked contender in an epic three-setter
6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
They had never faced each other before so it was a nervy start to the match. Davi was the one with the upper hand in the initial games of the opening set; gobbling up a breakpoint to take 3-0 upfront. Ilhan fought back in the match with a successful breakthrough
in the fifth game and levelled the scores with a successful hold at 3-3.
The drama was stopped for a while with both players slowing the tempo of the match; the scores progressed 4-4. Davi was put under pressure but he survived the onslaught of his opponent to register another successful serve hold. The tables were turned upon
the fourth seed participant who failed to hold his serve and lost the opening set in despair.
The second started with a critical breakthrough for the fourth seed Turk who consolidated his position with a successful serve hold. It was a good little period of play for the Turk who dominated the second set of the match and kept his lead intact until
the end. There was no pressure from his counterpart who was struggling to find the sweet spot of his racquet and often moving aimlessly at the baseline.
With no more breakpoints in the second set, Ilhan comfortably enhanced his position and inched a step closer to the berth in the next round. Unfortunately for him, he was not the one who actually progressed ahead in Dubai.
Only one breakthrough in the final set proved enough for the Spaniard to register a cracking upset at Decoturf II sporting arena. He registered that break in the fourth game and finished off the proceedings in emphatic fashion. He is obviously fuming in
with confidence with an upset under his belt.
Next up for the 26-years-old Spaniard is the Swiss contestant, Marco Chiudinelli, who defeated the sixth seed South African, Rik de Voest, to book a date with him on Sunday.
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