Eric Prodon, Steve Darcis cruise into the second round – BNP Paribas Polish Open 2011
Eric Prodon beats Marsel Ilhan 6-3, 6-3
Fourth seed, French Eric Prodon, ranked 103rd in the world, knocked out world number 114 Marsel Ilhan of Turkey in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 in the first round at the BNP Paribas Polish Open in Sopot, Poland on Tuesday.
Prodon needed just 56 minutes to oust his opponent.
The French broke Ilhan in the fourth game of the first set and consolidated on it, racing to a 4-1 lead. Serving to stay in the set at 3-5, the Turkish could not hold his serve and lost the set 3-6. Prodon hit 57 percent of the
first serves and two aces in the opening set. The French capitalised on two of the three break point opportunities he created on Ilhan’s serve in the first set.
The Turkish made a solid start in the second set as he broke Prodon in the opening game and held his serve in the next game to grab a 2-0 lead. However, Ilhan could not sustain his form, losing six of the next seven games and getting
broken twice to lose the set 3-6. Prodon bulldozed the Turkish with his powerful first serves, winning 90 percent of the first service points in the second set.
The French is slated to face world number 155 Adrian Ungur of Romania in the second round.
Steve Darcis defeats Yuri Schukin 6-3, 6-2
Belgian Steve Darcis, ranked 95th in the world, outplayed world number 149 Yuri Schukin of Kazakhstan in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 to qualify for the second round. The match lasted for an hour and six minutes.
Darcis broke the Kazakh in the sixth game of the first set and capitalised on it to clinch the set 6-3. The Belgian served quite well, firing four aces and 80 percent of the first serves in the first set. The right-hander pressurised
Schukin with his powerful return shots, bagging 50 percent of the first return points. Schukin served poorly as he delivered a meagre 27 percent of the first serves in the opening set.
In the second set, Darcis dominated the proceedings from the start, breaking the Kazakh in the first and fifth game to claim the set 6-2. The Belgian grabbed all the five second service points in the second set. The 27-year-old
did not face any break point and converted both break points on Schukin’s serve in the second set.
The five feet and ten inches tall will play Marcin Gawron of Poland in the second round.
Tags: