Denis Kudla edges Carsten Ball to reach the main draw – Australian Open 2012
American teenager, Denis Kudla, pounced over a local star, Carsten Ball, in straight sets in the qualifiers of the Australian Open 2012 on Saturday. He warded off early resistance to register a 7-6(1), 7-5 victory over the Aussie to advance into the main draw of this Grand Slam event taking place in Melbourne, Australia.
The 19-year-old American nervously entered the opening set and gifted away his serve in the fifth game. However, he quickly recovered by snatching his break back in the following game and held remaining serves to take the set into a tie-breaker round. Kudla was all over the court in the tie-breaker and eventually sealed the opener with a 7-6(1) win.
World number 276, Kudla, kept momentum running into the second set and held his opening serve in the second game, levelling the scores at 1-1. Later, he made a timely breakthrough in the fifth game and put his nose ahead for the first time in this set. Despite levelling the scores at 4-4, the American kept the remaining serves and broke the Aussie’s serve again in the eleventh game to clinch the set by winning seven games to five.
This was Kudla’s first meeting with the Aussie and after prevailing in this 95-minute marathon, he secured a spot at the main draw of this major tennis tournament. The American capitalised on three out of eleven break opportunities and dusted away two out of five breakpoints he came across. He also hammered eight aces and committed 21 unforced errors as compared to Ball’s 40, which made the difference.
Netherlands’ Jesse Huta Galung will join the teenager in the main draw. He drilled through French David Guez with a bagel to reach this spot. The Dutch reeled off last nine games in a row and earned a 6-4, 6-0 victory in 66 minutes in their fifth encounter.
A former world number 110, Galung swiped in entire serves after saving one breakpoint he came across and broke the French’s serve once in the ninth game to clinch the opening set with a 6-4 score line.
The 26-year-old raised the bar of his game in the final set and after hammering the balls expertly onto the lines; he went on a six games rampage and earned a bagel.
Overall, Galung clobbered a lower first serve share but clicked an incredible 26 out of 28 points on it. He also hit seven aces and seven winners to earn the spotlight.
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