Bjorn Phau tops Dino Marcan in opening round – Banja Luka 2012 CH
Second seed, Bjorn Phau, fended off late resilience to overpower the Croatian contender, Dino Marcan, in straight sets at the Banja Luka Challenger 2012 on Monday. He juggled up a 6-4, 7-6(6) victory against the world number 378 to secure a place in the
round of 16 at this outdoor clay court event held in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The German veteran brought his experience into handy to outclass Marcan in their first outing. He required one hour and 44 minutes stealing the spotlight and advancing into the second round at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour
event.
Phau made a sloppy entry into the Bosnian clay courts. He suffered the first blow in the second game and went 0-2 down. However, the German unleashed his true colours after that and reeled off four games in a row. He plucked his remaining serves with self-assurance
and sealed the opener by winning six games to four.
Ranked 74th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Phau swayed from his track again towards the following set. He gifted away his serve in the eighth game to trail at 3-5. However, the German not only snatched his break back in
the very next game but remained calm to take the set to a tie-breaker. He edged past the Croat in it and eventually clicked the set with a 7-6(6) win.
All in all, the seed showed brilliant abilities to dominate the match. He manifested a lower first serve share of 54 per cent as opposed to the Croat’s 63 per cent but brilliantly availed 29 out of 40 points on it. The German spilled more double faults but
finished the match with 77 points.
Phau will square off against his compatriot, Peter Torebko, who bounced back to triumph over the Spanish qualifier, Carlos Gomez-Herrera, in three sets to set up this duel.
Ukraine’s Ivan Sergeyev will accompany the German veteran in the second round. He required 72 minutes to outmuscle the Hungarian contender, Attila Balazs, in straight sets to reach this spot. Sergeyev was broken once but cashed in four out of 10 break chances
to clinch the match.
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