Ilija Bozoljac defeats Andre Begemann on home soil in first round – Eckental Challenger 2011
The 2011 Eckental Challenger further progressed on November 1, 2011 with men’s singles competitions. Ilija Bozoljac (Serbia) played his match against Andre Begemann (Germany). The 27-year old German was hoping to win the match
and excel into the tournament on home soil.
His dream was cut short as the 26-year old Serbian won the match 6-2, 7-6(4), 6-3. The Serbian lost the first set as he was playing on the defensive against the German. Bozoljac conceded six double faults, which proved he was not
comfortable while playing the first set.
Begemann, on the other hand, delivered two aces with the Serbian scoring the same number of aces. Bozoljac was able to save only two out of five breakpoints while the German could not save the only breakpoint he had.
Ranked at 216th place in the world, Bozoljac was not maintaining the pace at which his German opponent was scoring points with, which was a point of concern for the Serbian as he lost the first set, 6-2.
In the second set, the Serbian was playing well against the 229th ranked German, an improvement he showed as soon as the second set began.
The Serbian saved his breakpoint and delivered seven aces, which helped him keep the scores almost equal with Begemann. With eight aces, the German had a higher first serve winning rate against the Serbian, helping him to be at
par with his opponent.
Bozoljac, with a win/loss ratio of 23/17, was trying his best to win the second set. Begemann was also putting in his effort to win the second set and seal the victory in the match. Both the players were not giving any room to
their opponents in terms of scoring points.
Both competitors were cautiously playing their shots, giving no chance for their opponent to score on their errors. The second set entered into a tiebreaker which the Serbian won 7-6(4).
The match, tied with both players winning a set each, entered into the third set. The intensity of the match increased as the two opponents were now fighting for the win. In the third set, the Serbian saved both of his breakpoints,
which helped him take a lead and extend it further into the third set.
Bozoljac scored nine aces as he started playing offensively against the German. Begemann could only save two of his three breakpoints and could manage to deliver only three aces, which meant he was not playing his shots aggressively
and could not control Bozoljac’s lead.
Begemann’s first serve winning rate was higher than his opponent but still he lost the third set, 6-3, because he could not reply back to Bozoljac’s aces and was unable to break his serves.
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