Arnau Brugues-Davi upsets Kenny De Schepper in first round – Orleans Challenger 2011
Kenny De Schepper of France went head-to-head with the Spanish, Arnau Brugues-Davi, in the first round of the Orleans Challenger Tournament, hosted in France, on Wednesday October 19th. This was the perfect opportunity for the French to level the head-to-head tally but his luck was out. He lost the battle with a score of 1-6, 6-1 and 7-6(8); after an enthralling all round play of an hour and forty-seven minutes.
French had won just a single game from his last nine encounters and was completely out of touch. Although, he was ranked at 141, six ranks above his opponent, yet his dismal form was hinting towards an upset. Brugues-Davi was also going through some rough time having lost five of his last nine encounters. So, it was the battle of who was less untidy at the pitch.
The match started off as expected and better-ranked French enjoyed the first third of the match by knocking the Spanish in all department and having won six games whilst his opponent could only clinch just one.
Nice ace were smashed by Schepper and he coupled it up with an emphatic 100% first serve success rate. The two obvious break points were also amongst the highlights from the first set. The overall performance in the first set by the French didn’t show an inch of his poor run of form.
The second set was totally opposite of what was witnessed in the first set. It was Brugues-Davi who clinched all the glory and knocked his opponent in every aspect. This stunning comeback brought life to the match and awakened the bored crowd.
An ace and two breakpoints by the Spanish helped him seal the second set and push the game into the final set. He maintained an impressive 69% first serve success rate and followed it up with breathtaking 89% second serve success rate. Crowd was delighted at this comeback, however, they wanted their local hero to win the third set and knock the Spanish out of the tournament.
Third set was a scintillating neck to neck battle and crowd loved every moment of it. The match was undecided until the last point was won and that is exactly what crowd dream off. Six aces by the French and one by his competitor were a treat to watch.
Neither provided a chance to their competitor to win a single opportunity to break and pushed the set into the tie-breaker. The first serve success rate stat of both players tells the whole story; 80% for the Spanish and 78% for the French.
The unforced error made by the French cost him the game; he double faulted on his serve in the last set and that was good enough for the Spanish to capitalize on that and steal the set after a stimulating battle of composure and temperament.
Arnau Brugues-Davi squares-off against the second seeded wildcard entrant Michael Llodra in the second round of the tournament.
Tags: