Gilles Muller upsets Steve Darcis in the round one – Erste Bank Open 2012
World number 81, Gilles Muller, took the better of the Belgium professional, Steve Darcis, in the round one of the Erste Bank Open held at the indoor hard courts of Vienna, Austria. He consolidated his thrilling three setter 6-7(3),
6-4, 6-3 win on Monday in nearly two hours and 28 minutes.
The opening set proved to be tough deal for both the players as they battled hard to sustain the lead. For the entire time none of the players were unable to secure any lead and momentum continuously oscillated between the two
sides. The score line repeatedly swung from one point to the other until the end of the set. The two players broke each another’s serves in the fifth and sixth game respectively but no one emerged to the front as the lead. Nonetheless, after a tedious encounter,
the higher ranked Belgian stamped his 7-6(3) win after an averagely pace tiebreaker.
In the second round, Darcis started with high spirits and had a strong resolve to rally past his challenger as before. The Luxembourg participant thundered back and focused to stay on the track to bag home the second set title.
He easily plucked all his serves without encountering any hindrance. He secured his critical break in the seventh game and started progressing with beautiful backhand ground strokes. As the game advanced towards the end, Darcis started to lose his hope and
bestowed the set upon Muller, bagging home a 4-6 loss.
In the decider, the 28-year-old, Darcis, started a reasonable pace and the score line evened out twice in the fourth and the sixth game respectively. The left-hander, Muller, convincingly progressed and cashed the lone opportunity,
giving him the advantage over the rival. He judged forward and terminated the final set with a 6-3 win.
Ranked 75th in the ATP World Tour Rankings, Darcis, had a moderate pace and he fired seven aces with 63 percent initial serve accuracy. He also converted 48 of 74 first and 22 of 43 second delivery points. He was unable
to attain the lead as he just bagged away one of the four serve breaks and his competitor attained four from nine. In comparison to that, Muller completely dissolved his challenger by smashing 16 aces and 70 percent initial serve precision.
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