Dudi Sela dismisses Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in the opening clash – ATP Challenger Tour Finals 2011
95th ranked Israeli competitor, Dudi Sela, had a magnificent start to the season ending finale, the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour Finals, defeating the fifth seeded German, Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, in the opening Round Robin matchup on Wednesday night.
The fourth seeded Israeli battled for two hours and eleven minutes of play to come out as the winner in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6(3), having an impactful start at the mega event. The two Yellow Group contestants played brilliant hard-court tennis but Sela was the better man in the end. After dropping the opener earlier in the competition, Stebe posed some serious resistance in the second set to impose a tie breaker round into play but it was Sela’s pressure absorbing proficiency which assisted him through to victory.
The Israeli had a remarkable season, winning three successive ATP Challenger Tour events in five weeks to earn a place in the eight-man filed at the Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil, for the mega event. Sela lifted trophies at Busan, Fergana and Nottingham this season and carried on his winning impetus at the Wednesday’s event as well to get the early advantage in the tournament.
Sela delivered just 56 per cent of his first serve on target and secured 37 out of 54 points on it to take the better of his opponent in the competition. Stebe followed him with 30 out of 51 first serve points in the game but the fourth seed keep pocketing crucial points on regularity to remain a step ahead of him.
Stebe had a number of opportunities in the contest but the fifth seed carelessly frittered away most of his chances to finish on the losing side in the end. He converted merely two of the 12 break points in the entire competition, while his Israeli opponent registered three of his seven break points to drive the German out of the contest.
The opening set took off with an early trade of serve breaks from both sides. Stebe squandered away three more break chances in the set before Sela finally converted his second opportunity to close out the first set at 6-4, getting the upper hand in the contest. The following set also witnessed an exchange of serve breaks from the two contestants, followed by a regular game to take the set into a tie breaker round. Stebe crumbled under the pressure of defeat and let Sela through to victory at 6-7(3).
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