Daniel Smethurst outplays Pedro Sousa in the second round qualifiers of the Tennis Napoli Cup
Twenty-year-old Daniel Smethurst of the Great Britain defeated Pedro Sousa of Portugal in the second round of the qualifying draws of the Tennis Napoli Cup at Naples, Italy on Sunday. He took one hour and fifty one minutes to wind up the three-set contest 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, to make it to the main draws of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event.
A brilliant display of professional tennis was shown from the two contestants, dragging the game into three sets. Smethurst dropped the first set in the opening forty minutes of play but made a terrific comeback to reel off the next two sets and ensure victory. The Briton had a sloppy start to the game but gathered up pace steadily to take down his Portuguese opponent and step into the main draws of the tournament.
The Briton had a decent first serve precision of 69 per cent, in contrast to his opponent’s below par serve accuracy of 46 per cent. Smethurst constructed 14 break opportunities in total and converted half of them en route to victory, while the Portuguese competitor cashed in five of seven break points in the game.
Although Sousa’s first serve percentage in the opener was drastically low to 41, he still managed to crack in two serve breaks to get the competitive advantage early. Two double faults from the Briton on critical moments of the match assisted Sousa to bag the first set at 6-3.
Smethurst bounced right back into the contest in the second set with an impressive first serve of 76 per cent and collecting 15 out of 22 points on it. He dropped serve earlier in the set but recovered with great mastery to clinch two break points and reach set point at 5-3. The Briton then comprehensively served out of the second set at 6-3 to bring the match on even terms with one set a piece.
Once he got his momentum, Smethurst never looked back at Sousa and kept pushing him out of the contest in the decider. Sousa made a valiant effort to restrict his opponent by registering two serve breaks in the third set but had to suffer four break points from the Briton’s racquet to remain on the back foot. Smethurst eventually sealed the contest at 6-3, getting a berth in the main draws of the Tennis Napoli Cup. His first main draw encounter at Naples will be against the Italian, Matteo Viola.
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