Benjamin Becker outlasts Ricardas Berankis in the quarter-final – AEGON Trophy 2012 CH
World number 157, Benjamin Becker of Germany, survived the meltdown in the second set to overcome Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis, 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-0, in the quarter-finals of the AEGON Trophy in Nottingham on Saturday. It took the
German one hour and 29 minutes to pull victory in an evenly contested match.
Becker and Berankis started off by holding their serves in the opening two games to take the proceedings to 1-1. It was all Becker show afterwards, as he struck twice, claiming five games in a row and sealing the opener 6-1.
The German sent explosive serves, bombarding six aces and grabbing 13 of the 15 points on the first serves in the opening set. He also fared pretty well on the replies to the Lithuanian’s deliveries, clinching seven of the 12 first
and five of the 11 second delivery points. Becker did not give any break chance to his opponent and availed two of the four he got.
In the second set, both players put on stunning serving display, as they did not allow each other to break even once, levelling the score at 6-6 and taking it to a tie-breaker. None of the two players was willing to give other
the lead, as they went neck to neck to take the points to 5-5 but then Berankis succeeded in winning two in a row and capturing it 7-6(5).
Berankis fired two aces and maintained a first serve percentage of 59 in the second set. His conversion rate was above average, as he claimed 20 of the 27 first and 14 of the 19 second delivery points. The Lithuanian lost all the
24 points on the first returns but compensated by clinching eight of the 13 on the second ones.
After losing the second set by the closest of margins, Becker came roaring into the decider. The German played flawlessly, as he did not drop even single game, breaking Berankis three times and snatching six straight games to close
it 6-0.
Becker smacked two aces and committed one double fault, hitting 69 percent of the first serves and converting incredibly nine of the 11 of them into points. The 30-year-old did not face any break point and converted three of the
seven he received in the final set.
The German will take on world number 705, Robert Kendrick of USA, in the semi-finals.
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