Izak Van Der Merwe downs Andrei Daescu in round one – JSM Challenger 2012
South African challenger, Izak Van Der Merwe, stomped over the Romanian qualifier, Andrei Daescu, in straight sets at the JSM Challenger of Champaign 2012 on Tuesday. He penned down a 6-2, 6-2 victory against the world number 772 to progress into the second
round at this hard court tournament taking place from 10th to 17th November in Champaign, United States.
Van Der Merwe showed awe-inspiring skills in his opening battle against the qualifier. After earning the fame in just under an hour, the South African convincingly progressed into the round of 16 on these Illinois hard courts.
The veteran made a strong entry at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event. He drew the first blood in the third game and leaped to a 3-1 lead. After Daescu kept his serve in the fifth game, the South African contender wiped
out the last three games and clicked the opener with a 6-2 win. He brushed off the only breakpoint he faced and cashed both break chances to inch towards glory.
Ranked 220th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Van Der Merwe thundered into the second set. He broke his opponent’s serve twice and climbed to a 5-1 lead. The South African plucked his serve once again and clinched the set
with a 6-2 score line. He was never challenged with any breakpoint and availed half of the four break chances to steal the show.
The 28-year-old clobbered a slightly lower first serve share of 60 per cent as compared to his rival’s 63 per cent and spectacularly clicked 22 out of 24 points on it. He smashed a ferocious ace and ended the match with 59 points.
Next up for Van Der Merwe is sixth seeded Tim Smyczek from United States.
The third seed, Denis Kudla, will accompany Van Der Merwe in the second round. He was broken three times but capitalised on five out of 12 break chances to formulate a 7-5, 6-3 success against Great Britain’s Joshua Milton. He produced a higher first serve
share of 61 per cent and impressively clinched 26 out of 38 points on it.
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