Gilles Muller overcomes Lukas Lacko to reach round two – Serbia Open 2012
Eighth seed, Gilles Muller, rallied past the Slovakian tennis star, Lukas Lacko, in a see-saw match at the Serbia Open 2012 on Tuesday. He nudged up a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 victory against the 24-year-old to labour into the round of 16 at this ATP (Association of
Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event held in Belgrade, Serbia.
The Luxembourgian ace showed exceptional skills and eventually outran Lacko in a three-set nail-biter at this red clay court event. After overpowering his Slovakian rival in one hour and 42 minutes, Muller took lead in their FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series
by 1-0 and entered the second round.
Muller flashed into the SRPC Milan Gale Muskatirovic and stroke out the opening six games in a row. The veteran defended the only breakpoint he came across and cashed in all three break opportunities to pocket the bagel.
The world number 65 re-structured in the follow-up set and smoothly plucked his entire serves after warding off the lone breakpoint he encountered. Muller got the breakthrough in the seventh game and sealed the equaliser by winning six games to four.
Ranked 62nd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Muller re-gained his strength in the final set which matter the most. He slid his entire serves without facing any hindrance and earned the desiderated break in the second game,
consequently clinching the decider with a 6-3 score line.
Overall, Muller committed five double faults and clobbered a poor first serve share of 47 per cent as opposed to his opponent’s 60 per cent. However, he hammered 11 aces and amazingly clicked 32 out of 36 points on his first serve share to earn the glory.
Next in line for the seed is the Argentinean qualifier, Eduardo Schwank, who shocked Dudi Sela in straight sets to set-up this outing. The qualifier warded off late resistance to outclass the Israeli star with a 6-2, 7-6(2) score line.
The fifth seed, Lukasz Kubot, faced a bitter fortune later that day. He endured a 5-7, 2-6 loss at the hands of Czech Republic’s Lukas Rosol in one hour and 13 minutes.
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