Dudi Sela rallies past Rajeev Ram in the second round – Challenger of Granby 2011 CH
Top seed, Dudi Sela of Israel, prevailed through the second round of the Nation Bank’s Challenger of Granby by defeating the unseeded American competitor, Rajeev Ram, on Wednesday.
Being played at Granby, Canada, 26-uear-old Sela displayed continued his brilliant form to overcome Ram in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, to book a berth in the quarter-finals of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger
Tour event. The Israeli took just one hour to dispense out Ram from the tournament in the most authoritative manner to move one step closer to the title shot.
The contest appeared pretty one-sided throughout, with Sela dominating for the most of the time to eventually come out as the winner. His big serve proved extremely lethal for the American opponent, who clearly suffered to handle
the attacking game play of Sela throughout the contest.
Sela was off to a flyer in the opener and his 72 per cent precise serve earned him 15 out of 18 first serve points to give him the competitive advantage over his opponent. Sela’s return game equally assisted his victory, so did
the error-ridden game of Ram. The American failed to craft even a single break chance in the opener, which proved very taxing in the later parts of the game.
Ram held serve in his opening three games before he suffered the first serve break from his aggressive opponent, who used the break point to race away to set point at 5-4. Sela convincingly served out of the opening set with a
fiery ace, closing the set at 6-4 to get one up in the competition.
The Israeli dominance got even intense in the following set, with Ram going through a terrible slump to let Sela on top of the contest. The top seed took off the second se with a cracking serve break, immediately getting to a 3-0
lead before the American finally held serve to break his momentum. Sela secured 14 first serve points and went on with his attacking game to pinch a second crucial serve break, reaching match pint in the eighth game.
Ram had two break opportunities in the second set but he spoiled both of them to let Sela away with an easy victory and a place in the round of eight of the Challenger of Granby. The top seed will now take on the sixth seeded French
Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the quarter-finals to fight for a berth in the semis.
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