Grega Zemlja, Andreas Beck enter next round – Eckental Challenger 2011
As the 2011 Eckental Challenger enters into higher rounds, Grega Zemlja (Slovenia) faced Martin Fischer (Austria) on November 1, 2011. Zemlja won the match 7-5, 6-4.
The 25-year old Slovenian was impressive in the match as he scored ten aces with only a single double fault. In the first set, Zemlja scored five aces with no double fault.
He started the first set with the strategy to keep scoring and played all his shots with enthusiasm. He had a sixty-nine percent first serve winning ratio, ten percent more than his Austrian opponent.
Fischer, on the other hand, conceded a double fault once in the first set but could not score any aces. The Slovakian won the first set 7-5.
In the second set, Zemlja, ranked at the 124th spot in the world, was again impressive as he delivered five aces and conceded one double fault. Fischer, currently ranked at the 214th spot, did save two out
of his three breakpoints but his serves were not able to earn him points against his Slovenian opponent.
Both players had nearly equal first serve winning points with Zemlja securing 52% while Fischer scored 50%. Had the Austrian scored some aces in the early parts of the second set, he might have had a chance to close the lead his
opponent had created. Zemlja won the second set and went into the next round of the competition.
The German crowd had some relief when, later in the day, they saw local Andreas Beck defeat Jan Mertl (Czech Republic) in a nerve-wrenching match. The 25-year old German fought with his heart against the Czech player and won the
match 7-6(2), 6-7(8), 6-2.
Both players were on the offensive as soon as the match began. Mertl scored 17 aces while Beck delivered 12. In the first set, Mertl saved all three of his breakpoints and had a first serve winning rate of 51%.
Beck, although won the first set, had a 35% first serve winning rate, which meant he had a decent counter attack going on in the first set. Mertl was closing in to win the first set, but Beck won the set 7-6(2).
In the second set, Mertl saved both of his breakpoints and had a 70% first serve winning ratio. He did concede two double faults in the set but his higher rate of winning points on first serve helped him win the second set 7-6(8).
The third set was the most crucial part of the match. Beck could only deliver a single ace in the third set but conceded no double fault. Mertl did score more aces than his opponent, but he could not win more than two games in
the second set as Beck won it 6-2 and cruised into the next round.
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