Jesse Levine ousts Carsten Ball in 1st round – Charlottesville Challenger 2011
American qualifier Jesse Levine bounced back from a set down against Australian qualifier Carsten Ball in the first round of the Charlottesville Challenger 2011.
On Tuesday the 1st of November 2011, the two had duelled swords for two hours and thirteen minutes on indoor hard courts of the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Virginia. Emerging victorious was Levine after recoiling from a set down
to score 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(5).
Levine initiated the first round of the match after he had won the service toss and he held his serve to initiate the score at 1-0. Following in his footsteps was Ball and he too held his serve and tied the score at 1-1. In the next two games, the players
once more held their serves to rotate the scoreboard to 2-2 by the end of the fourth game.
From there onwards the players matched a blow for a blow and the score kept tied at 3-3, and then finally at 4-4 in the eighth game as the players held their own. During the second last game, Ball held his serve and took the mini lead. However, in the last
serve Levine came under pressure and double faulted endorsing the set point to Ball, who was now one up in the match.
During the second set of the match the toe-to-toe run carried on and the two once again were at each other’s throat. For the first six games the players had held their serve and the score had tied at three games each. As once more the players matched an
eye for an eye, they held their respective serves for the following six games to eventually push the set into a tie breaker.
Amidst the tiebreaker, the head-to-head run had lost its steam and taking the initial lead was Levine. The American fought hard and strong to rush past his adversary and eventually clinched the tiebreaker at 7-3 to clog the second set.
By the first two sets, each player had bagged a set and initiating the third was Ball. Matching a blow for a blow, neither player wanted the other player to take the lead; they kept bagging their service games to level the score at 2-2 by the end of the
first four games.
In the following four games the players once more won on alternate service games and the score balanced out at 4-4 by the end of the eighth game. During the last two games the challengers traded in breaks and the score was again shoved into a tiebreaker.
This time, the head-to-head run progressed into the tiebreaker and once more taking the lead was Levine. However, with a series of breaks and hold the challengers managed to tie the score at five points each. Nonetheless, in the last two points, Levine broke
his adversary for the last time to clog the tiebreaker with a 7-5 score.
Qualifier Levine managed to reserve a berth in the second round of the tournament.
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