Edward Corrie upsets Jan Mertl in the first round – AEGON Nottingham Challenge 2012 CH
Great Britain’s wild card entrant, Edward Corrie, made a huge upset on the opening day of the tournament, as he defeated the world number 173, Jan Mertl of Czech Republic, in three sets 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 7-6(4) in the first round
of the AEGON Nottingham Challenge in England on Tuesday.
Both players served amazingly, as the entire contest did not see even a single break. Tie-breakers were enforced to decide all of the three sets and it looked like Corrie and Mertl would play this match forever if there was a no
tie-breaker rule at this event.
The British player and his Czech rival won their serve throughout the first set to equalise the score at 6-6 and force a tie-breaker. Both players went neck to neck till 5-5 but then Corrie succeeded in capturing two points in
a row and sealing it 7-6(5).
Ranked 589th in the world, Corrie banged in two aces and 71 percent of the first serves, converting 26 of the 35 of them into points. On the other hand, Mertl also hit a couple of aces but committed one double fault
at the same time.
Corrie and Mertl continued to serve brilliantly in the second set, as they did not allow each other to convert any break point, evening out the proceedings at 6-6 and taking it to a tie-breaker. The Czech contestant began with
a 3-0 advantage and maintained it till the end, triumphing 7-6(4).
Mertl bombarded 13 huge aces and 82 percent of the first deliveries, pocketing 30 of the 40 points on them. He lost five of the nine second serve points but put away all the three break threats he faced in the second set.
In a similar fashion to the first two sets, both players held their serve throughout the decider to square off the score at 6-6 and force third straight tie-breaker. Corrie and Mertl went on equal terms till 4-4 but the British
player raised the level of his game after that, capturing three consecutive points to grab it 7-6(4).
Corrie neither hit an ace nor committed a double fault in the final set. The Brit kept a first serve percentage of 61 and secured 22 of the 28 points on them. He gave a good performance on the second ones, bagging 12 of the 18
points.
The Brit will lock horns with sixth seed, Grega Zemlja, in the second round.
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