Jan Hajek tumbles Federico Delbonis to enter pre-quarters – Skistar Swedish Open 2012
Czech Republic’s Jan Hajek eased past the Argentinean contestant, Federico Delbonis, in straight sets at the Skistar Swedish Open 2012 on Monday. He juggled up a 7-6(3), 6-3 victory against the world number 113 to secure a place in the round of 16 at this
outdoor clay court tournament taking place in Bastad, Sweden.
The Czech veteran showed tremendous skills in the opening set tie-breaker and then carried his momentum in the following set, ultimately sealing the deal in one and a half hour venture. Battling each other for the first time, Hajek not only edged in the
FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head series by 1-0 against the left-handed Argentine but also progressed into the second round at this clay court tournament.
Hajek made a strong entry at this ATP World Tour 250 series event and drew the first blood in the fourth game to leap to a 4-1 lead. Despite losing his edge in the ninth game, the Czech not only prolonged the set to a tie-breaker but prevailed in it to click
the opener with a 7-6(3) win.
Ranked 102nd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Hajek perfected his game in the following set. He quickly bagged his entire serves without facing any trouble and capitalised on half of the four break chances to seal the set
by winning six games to three.
Overall, the 28-year-old was the better challenger throughout the battle. He formulated a higher first serve share of 72 per cent as opposed to his rival’s 63 per cent and impressively marked 34 out of 50 points on it. Hajek also hammered three aces and
converted three out of five break chances to his advantage.
Next up for the Czech is the fourth seed, Jarkko Nieminen, who received a first round bye after being the top four seed at this event.
The local wildcard entrant, Christian Lindell, faced a different fate. He suffered a 2-6, 2-6 shock at the hands of the Estonian star, Jurgen Zopp, in almost one a half hour-long marathon. The Swede broke his opponent’s serve once but was broken five times,
subsequently exiting from this event in the opening round.
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