Florian Mayer rallies past Gilles Muller in the opening round battle – Sud de France Open 2012
Seeded at number six in the tournament draw, Germany’s Florian Mayer registered a comprehensive victory over the 60th ranked Gilles Muller of Luxembourg in the opening round of the Sud de France Open on Monday. The world
number 21, Mayer was took one hour and 19 minutes of play to overwhelm the 28-year-old veteran in straight sets, 7-6(3), 6-3, marching into the second round of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 event.
The contest was played on the indoor hard courts of the Arena Montpellier, in Montpellier, France, with the German competitor displaying his amazing tennis skills yet another time. Mayer outplayed his unseeded opponent in most
segments of the game and gave him limited opportunities to have an impact on the match. A competitive opening set was witnessed, with Muller posing some resistance to bring a tie-breaker round into play but his dismal run in the very next set wiped him out
of the contest.
Mayer’s 70 per cent precise serve included seven thudding aces and he earned 40 out of 52 first serve points to come out as the winner. Only one break point was registered in the entire matchup and it obviously came from the racquet
of the sixth seed German. Muller had break opportunities on seven different occasions in the match but the unseeded veteran frittered away all those priceless chances to finish on the losing side in the end.
It was the first win for Mayer in the 2012 ATP season and a much needed one also. He was off to a steady start in the opening set but built up pace in the later parts of the game to rally past his opponent. Both men kept holding
their serves throughout the opening set, with the Luxembourgian squandering seven vital break points, to reach 6-6. Muller crumbled in the tie-breaker round and the sixth seed claimed the opening set at 7-6(3), to get the upper hand in the contest.
A pretty similar start to the following set was seen, as both men held their serves in the three games before Mayer finally nailed the only serve break of the match to lead 3-1. He held his remaining serves to close out his comprehensive
victory at 6-3.
Mayer will play against the winner of the match between the Spaniard, Albert Ramos and the unseeded local contestant, Nicolas Mahut, in the second round of the tournament.
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