Flavio Cipolla wins first round match at Qatar Open against Jabor Al Mutawa – Qatar Open 2012
Local player Jabor Al Mutawa entered the 2012 Qatar Open to prove his worth against Italian Flavio Cipolla in the first round of the men’s singles competition on January 2, 2012.
The two players were hopeful to win the match but the inexperienced Mutawa faded away in front of the Italian. Cipolla won the match within forty minutes in straight sets with a bagel, 6-0, 6-0.
The match was a test for the Qatari player as he faced a highly experienced player. As the match began, Cipolla went on the offensive as he knew he could easily overpower Mutawa, who has not played any major tournament in his career. Mutawa was on the defensive
throughout the match as he could not handle the Italian’s swift serves and elegant shot selection.
Neither of the two players scored an ace but due to Mutawa’s lack of playing against bigger opponents, he conceded seven double faults. This was a clear indication that he was intimidated by Cipolla and had obvious problems with his service games. The Italian
was not only dominating his Qatari opponent but his game play annihilated Mutawa and his dream to cruise into the tournament on home soil.
With the first set in progress, Cipolla’s serves made him win 18 out of 19 on his first serve while in the second set, he won six points out of ten. This was a contrast in Mutawa’s case who lagged behind with his serves in both sets. Mutawa won seven out
of 17 points from his first serve and only four out of the ten points he got from his first serve.
The spectators were supporting Mutawa as they wanted their local player to enter the second round of the tournament, but it did not happen as Cipolla was a mighty opponent. The Italian, who played the second round of the 2009 Australian Open, second round
of the 2007 French Open and the first round of the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, was in top form as he cruised to a straight set win over Mutawa, who made his professional tennis debut with this match.
Now that Cipolla has entered the second round of the competition, he will not wait to see who his opponent will be in the next match. He will face either Tunisian Malek Jaziri or French player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The match between Jaziri and Tsonga is also
expected to be a good one where fans and critics favour Tsonga for the win.
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