Jarkko Nieminen stuns Robin Haase in second round – PTT Thailand Open 2011
Another surprising outcome in the second round of the PTT Thailand Open, as the world number 42, Robin Haase of Netherlands, crashed out of the competition at the hands of the 50th ranked Jarkko Nieminen from Finland
on Wednesday afternoon.
Being played on the indoor hard courts of the Impact Arena, in Bangkok, Thailand, the contest witnessed some high quality tennis action from both men, who threw their best at each other to come out as the winner. Nieminen toiled
for one hour and thirty seven minutes to wrap up his hard-fought victory in straight sets 7-6(5), 7-6(4), to make a place in the quarter-finals of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 event.
Seeded at number seven in the tournament, Haase fought valiantly in the competition and dragged both sets into the tie breaker rounds but crumbled under pressure to let his opponent away with a convincing victory. The Dutch contestant
matched Nieminen in all aspects of the game but it appeared just a matter of time that Haase squandered some vital opportunities in the game to finish on the losing side in the end.
Haase served brilliantly in the contest, cracking 11 fiery aces and reeling off 38 out of 49 first serve points. His four double faults came on the critical moments of the game and let his opponent take advantage of him. Nieminen’s
74 per cent precise serve earned him 40 out of 59 first serve points in the match and he converted three out of four break chances en route to victory.
Nieminen was the first one to register a break point in the match to lead 4-1 early. Haase broke a couple of games later to force his way back in business and enforced tie breaker round after locking the scores at 6-6. Nieminen
proved the better man in the decider and outplayed his opponent to clinch the first set 7-6(5).
After four successive serve breaks exchanged between the two men in the second set, tie breaker came into play for a second time. The result was no different this time round and Nieminen concluded his straight sets victory at 7-6(4)
to move into the quarter-finals.
Nieminen has to wait in the quarter-final round to know his opponent until the clash between the second seeded Gael Monfils of France and Santiago Giraldo of Colombia is settled in the second round. Monfils and Giraldo will go
one-on-one on Thursday afternoon, with the winner getting a matchup against Nieminen in the round of eight.
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