Florent Serra drills down Razvan Sabau in final qualifier – BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy 2011
Kicking off with the first final qualifier match of BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy 2011 on Monday, 19th September, Florent Serra, Frenchman, looped onto Razvan Sabau, Romanian, beating him in straight sets 6-1, 7-6(3). The
Frenchman rounded up the match in just about an hour and 27 minutes to make his walk into the main draws of the Bucharest Open, Romania.
Playing on Classic Red Clay, the two ignited the crowd at the capital as the homes fans wanted a victory for their player. However, the 34-year-old could not put forward a greater play than Serra. Comparatively, the two are both
in their 30’s. Sabau on the other hand had a better 10 match stat than that of the Frenchman. Still Serra managed to bag a rather easy win.
Starting up the match serving first, Serra opened up the scoreboard winning the first game, 1-0. Formerly ranked world No.36, the Frenchman took off like a jet. Breaking Sabau next, Serra took the lead and commanded the first set.
With scores now at 2-0, the right-handed world No.146 extended his lead to 3-0 followed by another breakpoint to lead the set 4-0. Standing at a 4 games comfortable lead the Frenchman got the Romanian by his neck, frustrating him
and forcing him to play nasty. Serving out game 5, the 30-year-old added a 5thgame to his lead.
Finally, Sabau added his contribution to the scoreboard winning game 6, however, could not prove anywhere near the Frenchman. Serra served out game 7 and the first set winning 6-1 and led the match, 1-0.
With a commanding lead in the first set, Serra had a difficult time taking out the second. Serving out first for the second set, Sabau rolled down his part of the scoreboard and was followed by his rival levelling the scores instantly,
1-1.
Breaking the Romanian for the first time in set 2, Serra took the lead for a while, rather for a set before the Romanian broke back and levelled up once again, 2-2. Rallying out games winning on respective serves, the two levelled
up again at 3-3, 4-4 and 5-5 before the set went into a tiebreak.
It seemed that the Frenchman would lose the set as he lingered behind the 34-year-old in the set. However, stunning the locals and their player, Serra guttered the Romanian in the tiebreak 7-3, winning the second set 7-6(3) and
the match to walk in the main draws of the Bucharest Open 2011.
Taking out the Romanian with mere difficulty, the 30-year-old former world No.36 now sits in the main draw to take on another fellow qualifier, Gianluca Naso.
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