Igor Sijsling sinks Marek Semjan to make it to the second round of the Status Athens Open
23-year-old Igor Sijsling of Netherlands faced very few difficulties in outplaying his competitor, Marek Semjan of Slovakia in the opening round of the Status Athens Open at Athens, Greece on Tuesday. The Slovak hung in for just 66 minutes before succumbing to Sijsling in straight sets 3-6, 2-6, to give him a pass to the second round of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event.
It was a pretty much one-sided contest right from the start as Semjan appeared in no sorts of form to compete against the strong Dutch opponent. He matched Sijsling merely in his first serve accuracy and was beaten by the Dutch in every segment of the game.
Sijsling had 69 per cent precession in belting his first serve and he amazingly collected 30 out of 37 points on it. The Dutch appeared a bit sloppy in converting the break chances he got in the game, as he cashed in just three of the 10 opportunities he received from Semjan. However, his overall performance in the contest was an impressive one.
Four aces were recorded for both contestants in the match but Semjan’s three double faults proved very expensive for him. His first serve accuracy was brilliant in the opening set, as he delivered 72 per cent of it on target but he secured just 20 out of 36 total serve points in the set. Semjan had a decent start o the contest and held his serve in the opening three games before he suffered the first break point from Sijsling in to trail 5-3.
The Dutch collected 21 out of 28 total serve points in the first set to get the competitive edge over his competitor. He got his first set point at 5-3 and a fiery ace from his racquet sealed off the opener in the most assertive manner.
Things got even worse for Semjan in the second set as the Dutch competitor proved very miser in giving away points. Sijsling nabbed 15 of 18 first serve points this time and stung two serve breaks to rocket away to the match point at 5-2 in less than half an hour. Semjan crumbled under the pressure of defeat and a couple of errant shots from his racquet marked an end to his voyage at the Challenger Tour tournament at Athens. Sijsling finished the contest at 6-2 to meet the seventh seed Swiss, Stephane Bohli in the second round of the competition. Bohli stood victorious against the Greek wildcard Konstantinos Economidis in the opening round of the Status Athens Open.
Tags: