Benoit Paire battles past Jerzy Janowicz in the second round – Salzburg Indoor 2011
France’s Benoit Paire recovered from a middle-game slump to take down the unseeded Pole competitor, Jerzy Janowicz, in the second round of the Salzburg Indoors, in Salzburg, Austria, on Thursday afternoon.
The fifth seed toiled hard for two hours and five minutes of play before settling the three-setter at 7-6(6), 2-6, 6-3, advancing to the quarter-final rounds of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event.
It was an evenly posed contest being played on the outdoor hard courts, with both contestants exhibiting high quality tennis to provide excellent entertainment to the local Austrian crowd. Paire got the upper hand in the contest
first up but was brought down by the brilliance of his opponent in the very next set. Momentum shifted once again the final set, as Paire cruised to victory in style.
Janowicz bettered the French winner in some segments of the game but it was just his proficiency of pocketing crucial points in the match which bestowed victory upon him in the end. Paire fired 13 aces in the matchup, with his
opponent closely following him at 10 in the game. The Pole secured 50 out of 70 first serve points and registered three break points to finish on the losing side, whereas the French collected 41 out of 61 points and two break points conversions en route to
victory.
No serve breaks were seen in the opener from both sides, dragging the set into a tie breaker round. Paire proved to be more competitive under pressure in the decider and slipped in a mini-break to close out the first set at 7-6(6)
to get one up in the game. Janowicz came out firing at his opponent in the next set, nailing two successive break points to take the second set at 6-2 but couldn’t sustain the winning momentum in the final set. Paire stung two breaks of serve in reply to Janowicz’s
one in the third set and cruised through to victory at 6-3. A total of 204 points were played in the matchup and Paire secured 103, while Janowicz took 101 to lose the contest.
Paire will take on the German qualifier, Peter Gojowczyk, in the next clash to battle it out for a place in the semi-finals of the Salzburg Indoors. Gojowczyk registered a comprehensive victory over the unseeded Irish competitor,
Conor Niland, in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, in the second round of the tournament to book a date with Paire among the final eight.
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