Ivo Karlovic, Thiemo de Bakker win opening round clashes – Sacramento Challenger 2011
Second seeded Croat, Ivo Karlovic survived a mid match lapse against Austrian Martin Fischer as the pair met for their opening round match at the 2011 Natomas Men’s Professional Tennis Tournament on Tuesday, 4th October.
Playing in Sacramento, U.S.A the Croat took two hours and seven minutes to secure a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(8) win over the lower ranked Austrian.
Playing each other for the first time, Karlovic opened serve and comfortably put himself on the scoreboard. Matching the Croat giant’s strokes, Fischer was able to keep the score tied for the first six games. Leading 4-3 on his
serve, Karlovic broke his opponent in the eighth game to go 5-3 in the score before serving out the set to clinch a 6-3 win.
Leading the set score, it came as much surprise to the crowd when Karlovic suffered a reversal of fate in the second set. Bouncing back, Fischer turned over the tables in the second set to clinch a 6-3 win and level the set scores
to one set a piece.
A fiercely fought decider followed as the two players engaged each other in a neck to neck run. With an exchange of breakpoint early on in the set, the pair forced the decider into a tiebreaker. The toe-to-toe run continued well
into the tiebreaker as the pair kept the scoreboard ticking on even terms for the first sixteen points. However, capitalising on a mini break Karlovic reeled off two straight points to clinch a 10-8 tiebreaker win and ensure his survival at the event.
Although Karlovic hit four double faults to his opponent’s none, he also recorded a whopping twenty aces along with a 77 percent win on his first serve to secure a three set win for himself. The giant now moves on ahead to play
Dominican Republican Victor Estrella in the second round.
Battling past his own tough opponent, Dutch Thiemo de Bakker joins Karlovic in the second round. De Bakker bounced back from a set down as he survived two tiebreakers before securing a 6-7(5), 7-6(2), 6-3 upset win over fifth seeded
Canadian Vasek Pospisil.
Ranked well outside the 200, de Bakker surprised all that were present when he not only matched his higher ranked opponent but even managed to hold his own in the tiebreaker of the first set. Despite losing 6-7(5) in the first
set, de Bakker bounced back in the second set as he reversed the tables to clinch a 7-6(2) win before sealing his victory with a 6-3 win in the third set.
Playing the Canadian for the first time, de Bakker hit thirteen aces and four double faults along with a 79 percent win on his first serve. Converting four of eight breakpoint opportunities to his advantage, de Bakker was able
to move on ahead in the event in two hours and thirty nine minutes.
The Dutchman now moves on ahead to play another Canadian, qualifier Pierre-Ludovic Duclos in the second round.
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