Joao Sousa secures victory over Jorge Aguilar to enter the 3rd round – San Sebastian Challenger 2011
Portuguese tennis pro Joao Sousa entered the third round of 2011 San Sebastian Challenger tournament with a superb 6-4, 7-6 (1) victory over Jorge Aguilar of Chile on Tuesday. Sousa struggled to find his timing early on but as
the match progressed on, he started to time the ball really well and created all sorts of problems for his opponent.
Un-seeded at the ATP Challenger event, Sousa was absolutely jubilant at his victory. Defeating a player of Aguilar’s calibre will give him confidence in his abilities and skills. And now he will be looking to continue his impressive
run on the red clay courts of San Sebastian to make it to the final stages of the tournament.
Sousa made a shaky start to the match as a number of his forehand and backhand shots landed outside the lines as the match started. Aguilar took complete advantage of his opponent’s mistake and he grabbed opportunities with both
hands. Breaking the serve early in the opening set, the Chilean tennis pro took a crucial 4-2 lead to establish control over the contest. However from there on, Sousa changed the gears and displayed some high quality tennis.
Breaking straight back, the 22-year-old managed to level the game score at 4-4. He then converted his second break chance of the set in tenth game to take the set score lead. Clinching four games in a row, he took control of the
match. Denting his rival’s confidence levels, he executed his game plan to perfection.
Looking to end the match in straight sets, Sousa continued to play his natural game freely in the following set as well. Breaking the serve early, he took a healthy 4-0 lead. Aguilar also lifted his spirits as he broke straight
back to keep his wining hopes alive. The two players broke each other twice in the set as the set went in to a tie-breaker.
However in the tie-breaker, Aguilar failed to handle the heat and started to produce too many unforced errors. Getting help from his opponent, Sousa made most of the opportunities to take the tie-breaker 7-6 (1) as the match ended
in straight sets.
Ranked 211th in the world, Sousa will be satisfied with his effort. Although he made a few unforced errors in the match, the quality of his game play in general was quite good. The Portuguese converted four out of nine
break points in the match. On his serve, he secured more than 63 per cent of the points. While at the receiving end, he bagged nearly 42 per cent of the points.
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