Bastian Knittel, Cedrik-Marcel Stebe through to the final qualifying round of BMW Open
Bastian Knittel beats Jesse Huta Galung 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(7)
World number 201, German Bastian Knittel fought back from one set down to battle past world number 120 Jesse Huta Galung of Netherlands in three thrilling sets 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(7) in the second round of the qualifying draw at the BMW Open in Munich on Sunday. It took the German three hours and nine minutes to oust his opponent in a marathon match.
Knittel and Huta Galung broke each other twice in the first ten games of the opening set, levelling the score at 5-5. Serving to stay in the set at 5-6, Knittel failed to hold his serve and lost the first set 5-7. Huta Galung fired a couple of aces and a single double fault in the opening set. The Dutch converted three of the eleven break points he received in the first set.
In the second set, both players served well and held their serve in the first ten games to tie the score at 5-5. Knittel broke his opponent in the eleventh game and held his next service game to claim the second set 7-5. The German delivered three aces and 56 percent of the first serves in the second set, winning 74 percent of the points on them.
Knittel and Huta Galung failed to break each other in the deciding set, forcing a tie-break. The German managed to claim a late mini-break in the tie-break and won it 9-7. Knittel saved the only break point he faced in the final set.
The 27-year-old is slated to play Robert Farah of Colombia in the final qualifying round.
Cedrik-Marcel Stebe ousts Paul Capdeville 7-5, 6-4
World number 204 Cedrik-Marcel Stebe of Germany defeated world number 141 Paul Capdeville of Chile in straight sets 7-5, 6-4 to move to the final round of the qualifying stage.
Capdeville broke Stebe in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. However, the German broke back in the seventh game and held his serve in the next game to level the score at 4-4. Stebe broke again in the 11th game and served out the set at 6-5. The 20-year-old capitalized on two of the four break points he received in the first set.
Stebe needed a single break of serve to win the second set 6-4. The German hit three aces and did not commit any double fault in the second set. The right-handed delivered 64 percent of the first serves and won 74 percent of the points on them in the second set. The match lasted for an hour and 57 minutes.
The German will meet his compatriot Julian Reister in the final round of the qualifying draw.
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