Cedrik-Marcel Stebe reaches the quarterfinals at the 2011 Rai Open
Qualifier Cedrik-Marcel Stebe of Germany defeated Russian Evgeny Donskoy in two tight sets 7-6, 6-4 on Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals at the 2011 Rai Open in Rome.
The first set was played on a highly competitive note. Both players exchanged breaks and got involved in several long rallies. Stebe made the first serve break of the match by clinching four straight points on his opponent’s serve.
Donskoy bounced back well and managed to take the set in to a tie-breaker. The contestants displayed some high quality tennis in the tie-breaker however the German tennis-pro, Stebe held his nerves and smashed a forehand winner down the line to pocket the
first set 7-6.
The second set also proved to be a tight one. Donskoy broke Stebe’s serve first but the qualifier showed great fighting spirit, mental ability and determination to break back twice to lead the game score 4-2. The 20-year-old German
then held on to his serve games to ensure a straight set victory in a match that lasted for more than 2 hours.
Stebe used his forehand and backhand to great effect forcing the challenger to adopt a defensive strategy. The German converted five out of seven break points and established complete control over the contest with his aggressive
ground play. However, Stebe’s serve proved to be the real difference between the two players as he achieved 70 per cent first serve conversion compared to only 50 per cent managed by his opponent.
The German has been in terrific form since the year 2011 has started. He claimed his first ITF Futures title of the year in Turkey defeating Ukrainian Denys Molchanov in the final. He then reached the semifinals at the Guangzhou
Challengers in China where he lost to Belarusian Uladzimir Ignatik. Just a few weeks back he made it to the semis at the Pingguo Challengers and reached his career high ranking of world number 218. Stebe was absolutely delighted at his dream run on the tour
and aimed for a similar performance here at the red clay court tournament in Rome. However, he must up his game play and bring consistency in his performances to lift his first Challengers title of the year.
Donskoy on the other hand struggled to execute his shots and miss timed his backhand shot on a number of occasions. He had a weak second serve which allowed Stebe to play to score points at crucial situations. Donskoy had a good
start to the season as he broke into the ATP top 200 for the first time following consistent performances. The Russian was hoping for a better result here at this tournament but fell short of expectations.
Tags: