Gerard Granollers edges past Nikola Mektic into the second round – Brasov Challenger 2012
In a match between two unseeded players, Gerard Granollers of Spain put his act together after getting crushed in the second set to outlast the world number 266, Nikola Mektic of Croatia, 7-6(1), 1-6, 7-6(9) in the first round
of the Brasov Challenger in Romania on Wednesday.
The Spanish contestant needed two hours and 58 minutes to win the closest match of the day.
Granollers and Mektic started the contest by winning their serves in the first four games and squaring off the score at 2-2. The Croatian struck in the fifth and consolidated on it to take a 4-2 lead. Though, Mektic could not serve
it out in the 10th game, getting broken to even out the scores at 5-5. The following two went with serve, levelling the score at 6-6 and forcing a tie-breaker. Granollers made his opponent look so helpless later on, as he allowed him to claim only
one point and closed it 7-6(1).
The Spaniard fired two aces and 54 percent of the first deliveries, securing 15 of the 21 points on them. Granollers saved one of the two break points he faced and converted one of the three he received in the opener.
Mektic completely turned around the situation from the beginning of the second set, as he claimed opening three games to attain a 3-0 lead. The Croatian won two more afterwards to stretch his advantage to 5-0. Granollers barely
managed to open his account by holding his serve in the sixth but he could not strike back, going down 1-6.
The Croatian banged in three aces and committed a single double fault in the second set. The 23-year-old managed to keep his first serve percentage at merely 43 but succeeded in winning 10 of the 12 points on them. Mektic’s response
to his rival’s serves was also quite impressive, as he pocketed five of the eight first and five of the nine second return points.
In the decider, Mektic and Granollers traded a break of serve in the first two games to even out the score at 1-1. There was not a single more strike by either of the two players in the rest of it, equalising the score at 6-6 and
taking it to a tie-breaker. A fierce battle started after that, as they levelled the points at 9-9 but then Granollers clinched two back to back to seal it 7-6(9).
The Spaniard will lock horns with the local favourite, Victor Hanescu, in the second round.
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