Dennis Nevolo plonks Christian Harrison to reach round two – JSM Challenger 2012
In an all-American duel, wild card Dennis Nevolo outclassed his qualifying compatriot, Christian Harrison, in straight sets at the JSM Challenger of Champaign 2012 on Tuesday. He juggled up a 6-4, 6-2 success over the 18-year-old to progress into the second
round at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event held in Champaign, United States.
The wild card entrant showed brilliant skills to shock the world number 480 in their first encounter. After pocketing the match in one hour and 15 minutes, Nevolo convincingly progressed into the round of 16 at this tournament taking place from 10th
to 17th November.
Nevolo made a sloppy entry at this hard court tournament. He lost his serve twice and trailed in the opening set. However, the wild card recipient cashed three out of five break opportunities and ultimately bagged the opener by winning six games to four.
The lower ranked American produced a better first serve share of 63 per cent and superbly marked nine out of 17 points on it.
Ranked 709th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Nevolo maintained consistency in his game in the proceeding set. He dropped his serve once but cashed all three break chances, eventually pulling out the set with a 6-2 score line.
The wild card entrant clobbered a higher first serve share of 62 per cent as opposed to his rival’s 52 per cent and superbly availed 10 out of 13 points on it.
Elsewhere, sixth seeded American, Tim Smyczek, also stole the spotlight later that day. He lost his serve once but capitalised on two out of six break chances, subsequently bagging the opening set with a 6-4 win against Switzerland’s Michael Lammer.
The 30-year-old re-focused in the proceeding set and with a single break of serve, he managed to carve out the equaliser with a 6-3 success.
In the final set, Smyczek sought his early momentum again. He blocked all three breakpoints he encountered to keep his entire serves and got the breakthrough after capitalising on one out of eight break chances.
As a result, the American jolted down a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 success in two hours and 13 minutes.
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