Benoit Paire stuns Donald Young to reach round two – Grand Prix Hassan II 2012
French rising star, Benoit Pair, surprised everyone after shocking the fifth seeded American, Donald Young, in troublesome three sets at the Grand Prix Hassan II 2012, a clay court event taking place in Casablanca, Morocco. He joggled up a 4-6, 7-6 (5),
6-2 victory over the world number 45 to occupy a spot in the second round on Monday.
Paire made an epic comeback from a set down to outmuscle the seed in their first meeting. He lost his serve five times but broke Young’s serve six times to claim the hard-fought victory in two hours. As a result, the French comfortably secured a place in
the round of 16 at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) clay court event.
The 22-year-old American made quick in-roads and drew the first blood in the opening game to take the initial edge. Regardless of losing his serve twice after that and trailing at 1-3, he recovered in the fifth game. Young then kept his remaining serves
through brilliant defensive skills and got the breakthrough in the ninth game, consequently clinching the opener with a 6-4 score line.
Ranked 102nd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Pair carried his losing ways in the second set and after gifting away his serve in the fifth game, he trailed at 2-3. However, he made a fitting reply and reeled off the following
three games in a row with two breaks of serve. Despite squandering his chance to serve out the equaliser, Paire dominated in the tie-breaker and pulled out the victory with a 7-6(5) score line.
The booming French perfected his ways in the final set and carved out the break in the opening game to jump to a 2-0 lead. Paire then swiped in his remaining serves after dusting away both breakpoints he came across and capitalised on another break chance
in the seventh game to seal the decider with a 6-2 win.
Paire will next confront the winner of the match between Germany’s Matthias Bachinger and the Italian challenger, Filippo Volandri. If the French contestant plays in a similar way, he can definitely shelve his maiden ATP title at this event.
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