Carlos Berlocq rallies past Andreas Haider-Maurer into the second round of Open de Nice
Argentinean Carlos Berlocq, ranked 68th in the world, came back from a set down to defeat world number 90 Andreas Haider-Maurer of Austria in three sets 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 in the first round of the Open de Nice Côte d’Azur at the Nice Lawn Tennis Club in Nice on Tuesday. Berlocq needed two hours and four minutes to oust his opponent in a marathon match.
Berlocq and Haider-Maurer exchanged a single break of serve in the first 11 games of the opening set, taking the score to 6-5 in favour of Haider-Maurer. Serving at 5-6, Berlocq was broken and lost the set 5-7.
Haider-Maurer delivered two aces and hit a single double fault in the first set. The Austrian won despite having a poor first serve percentage as he managed to hit just 42 percent of the first serves in the opening set, claiming 77 percent of the points on them. On the other hand, Berlocq had a decent first serve percentage, firing 69 percent of the first serves and converting 60 percent of them into points. Haider-Maurer won two of the six break points on Berlocq’s serve and failed to save the only break point on his own serve in the first set.
After losing a close opening set, Berlocq picked up momentum in the second set, breaking the Austrian twice to win the set 6-3.
The Argentinean’s first serve percentage dropped as he delivered a mere 45 percent of the first serves in the second set. However, Berlocq maintained a reasonable conversion rate as he converted 78 percent of the first serves into points in the second set. Haider-Maurer continued to suffer because of his serve, committing a couple of double faults and failing to hit any ace. The Austrian hit just 45 percent of the first serves and won 64 percent of the points on them. The 24-year-old did not receive any break point and failed to save two of the four break points on his own serve in the second set.
With the momentum on his side, Berlocq crushed his opponent in the deciding set, not allowing the Austrian to win a single game to win the set 6-0.
The right-handed kept his first serve percentage at 50 percent and captured a whopping 86 percent of the points on them in the final set. The 28-year-old troubled his opponent with the attacking first returns as he won an incredible 53 percent of the points on them in the third set. The Argentinean capitalized on three of the five break point opportunities he created on Haider-Maurer’s serve in the deciding set.
Berlocq is slated to meet world number 12 Nicolas Almagro of Spain in the round of 16. The Spaniard, seeded third at the event, received a bye in the first round.
Tags: