Joao Sousa stuns Daniel Brands in the quarter-final – Mersin Challenger 2012
Portuguese player, Joao Sousa, registered an upset against the 24-years-old German, Daniel Brands, in the quarter-final of the Mersin Challenger tournament on Saturday. The seventh seed contestant knocked out the fourth seed competitor
in three sets 6-4, 6(3)-7, 6-4.
The match started sweetly for the seventh seed as he held his serve in the opening game after a slight scare. Moreover, he trashed the German in the following game taking 2-0 lead upfront. He dropped the serve game but reclaimed
the lead through a breakpoint in the fourth game that pushed the scores to 3-1. Another serve hold for the Portuguese starlet helped him to register an unassailable lead of 4-1.
Both players registered tight serve holds in the following three games before the set favourite Portuguese was pushed on the back foot by the match favourite German courtesy to a breakthrough. However, Brands couldn’t hold serve
in the final game of the set and lost it to his opponent.
The second set was a display of pure class and determination from both players. Not a single breakthrough was witnessed throughout the set that enforced a tie-breaker round into play. Both players were under the cosh on several
occasions but saved breakpoints to keep the scores together. A tie-breaker fell in the bucket of the German who forced the third set into play and enhanced his chances of qualifying for the semi-final.
Both players continued the serve hold phenomenon for the first four games of the final set before the Portugese contender broke serve after a hard fought battle in the fifth game. He consolidated his position with a serve hold.
Brands didn’t panic and continued to hold serve whilst stayed in the hunt for a breakpoint to level the scores. Despite keeping her opponent in pressure, the German starlet couldn’t make it to the semi-final stage of the tournament.
He was unable to break serve at any stage of the third set. It was a blistering match to say the least and the crowd loved every bit of it.
Sousa will contest against the sixth seed Czech, Jan Hajek, in the next round.
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