Dusan Lojda beats Eric Prodon in the quarterfinal – The Hague Open 2011 CH
A major upset for the French fans at Scheveningen, Netherlands, as the third seeded French competitor, Eric Prodon, crashed out of The Hague Open, at the hands of the unseeded Dusan Lojda of Czech Republic on Friday.
The 30-year-old French veteran hung in the game for just one hour and eleven minutes before submitting the contest to the belligerent Lojda in straight sets 3-6, 3-6, to send him into the semi-finals of the ATP (Association of
Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour tournament.
Seeded at number three in the tournament, Prodon was among one of the hot favourites for winning the championship title at Scheveningen but the agile Czech totally outplayed him in the Friday afternoon’s contest. Lojda was off
to a blistering start to the opening and despite of a pathetic serve precision of merely 36 per cent, the Czech reeled off 32 out of 51 total points being played in the first set.
Prodon drew first blood as he broke Lojda’s serve to lead 3-1 but the unseeded Czech came up with a solid reply, breaking the French serve twice in a row to get a commanding position in the set. The third seed then cracked in his
second serve break of the day to break the momentum of his opponent but it appeared a bit too late for him. Lojda’s fourth break point conversion marked an end to the opening set of the contest at 6-3, giving him the upper hand in the matchup.
The second set was a complete replication of the first one, except Lodja adopting a more aggressive strategy in the game to reel off 12 out of 15 first serve points. An early exchange of serve breaks was witnessed once again from
both contestants, levelling the scores at 3-3. The Czech took off his game from there onwards, breaking for the seventh time in the matchup to serve for the match at 5-3. The dejected Frenchman thumped a forehand in to the net to mark an end to his voyage
at the Hague Open.
Lojda dropped his serve four times in the contest but converted seven out of his 10 break opportunities en route to victory. His upset win over the third seed Prodon earns him a berth in the semi-finals of the Challenger Tour event,
where he will face either the second seed Belgian, Steve Darcis, or the seventh seeded fellow compatriot, Ivo Minar, for a spot in the final.
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