Jan Hernych outlasts Jan Mertl in the title-round – 2012 BH Telecom Indoors
In an all-Czech final, Jan Hernych rallied past Jan Mertl in a three set mouth-watering match at the Sarajevo Challenger 2012 on Sunday. He clobbered a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) score line against the 30-year-old to lift the title at this
indoor hard court event taking place in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The 32-year-old stayed focused throughout the match against Mertl and ultimately conquered the tournament in their first encounter. He broke his compatriot’s serve once but raised the bar of his game in the final set’s tie-breaker
to earn the spotlight.
Hernych assertively entered this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event and held his serve in the opening game to take the initial edge. He then maintained consistency in his game and swiped in remaining
serves. The higher ranked Czech got the breakthrough in the eighth game and clinched the opener with a 6-3 score line.
The world number 211 on the other side of net got in action in the following set. After Hernych held his opening serve in the second game, Mertl unleashed his skills and stroke out the proceeding three games in a row with a break
of serve. Later, Mertl kept his remaining serves and pulled out the equaliser by winning six games to three.
Both unseeded stars played their best tennis in the final set which mater the most. Mertl showed his defensive skills and plucked entire serves.
Ranked 191 in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Hernych also played with same intensity and smoothly held all of his serves.
The set eventually went to a tie-breaker but the higher ranked Czech re-gathered his strength to oust his fellow citizen with a 7-6(5) win.
Summing up the winning Czech’s performance, Hernych manipulated a slightly lower first serve share of 64 per cent as opposed to his compatriot’s 65 per cent and impressively clicked 43 out of 54 points on it. He dusted away three
out of four breakpoints he faced and converted one out of three break opportunities to his advantage. The beaming Czech then capped the match with 96 points and took full advantage of the several unforced errors Mertl spilled.
Hernych showed his class from the start of the tournament as he stunned the third seed, Germany’s Daniel Brands, in his opening round match. He then eased past his opponents before encountering the fifth seed, Dustin Brown, in
the semis. The Czech outclassed the German seed in straight sets to reach this spot.
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