Javier Marti, Jaroslav Pospisil win opening round clashes – Madrid Challenger 2011
Spanish tennis pro Javier Marti defeated Ilya Belyaev of Russia 6-3, 7-5 on Tuesday to advance into the second round of 2011 Madrid Challenger series here in Madrid, Spain. Javier made most of the available opportunities in a match
that lasted for 1 hour and 56 minutes. If he can maintain his current level of play, he will be very hard to beat in the final stages of the tournament.
Looking for a place in second round, Marti made a confident start to the match as he broke the serve in the very first game of the opening set to dent his opponent’s confidence levels. Hitting the ball really hard from deep behind
the baseline, he created all sorts of problems for his rival. Serving brilliantly, he held on to hi service games with ease.
Belyaev also raised the level of his game play and he broke back to stay in the set. However, Marti continued to play aggressively, breaking the serve for the second time in the set to earn a crucial 5-3, lead. He then secured
four straight points on his serve game to bag the opener 6-3.
A similar pattern of play was observed in the following set as the contestants displayed some high quality tennis. After both players exchanged serve breaks twice, the match enfettered a very exciting phase. Leading the game score
6-5, Marti smashed a blazing backhand winner down the line to set up two match points for himself. Breaking his opponent for the third time in the set, he closed out the match in straight sets to move ahead at the Association of Tennis Professional’s tournament.
Ranked 196th in the world, Javier was absolutely delighted with his effort and he aimed to produce similar performances in the upcoming matches as well. Hitting 77 per cent first serve, Marti’s serve is his strongest
weapon. If he can get most of first serves in, he could surprise even the best players here in Madrid.
In another match, Czech tennis pro Jaroslav Pospisil stunned number two seed Pere Riba with a superb 6-4, 6-3 victory.
Pospisil looked to attack his opponent right from the start of the match. Breaking the serve at regular intervals, he put himself in the driving seat. Controlling the rallies with his big serves, he had no problems holding on to
his service games. The Czech will be extremely confident after this victory and he can certainly prove to be threat for other quality players here in Madrid.
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