Julien Cagnina topples Tommy Bennett in the opener – Boys’ Singles: Wimbledon Championships 2012
Belgium’s Julien Cagnina survived the second set scare to down Tommy Bennett 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the first round of the boys’ singles event at the Wimbledon Championships on Monday. It took the Belgian two hours and 17 minutes to
battle past his opponent in a fiercely contested match.
Cagnina and Bennett held their serve in the first three games of the match to take the score to 2-1 in the former’s favour. The Belgian struck an initial breakthrough in the fourth and won his next serve to go up 4-1. Cagnina maintained
his lead until the end of the proceedings, closing it 6-3.
The Belgian gave a solid performance on the first serves, firing three aces and bagging 18 of the 22 points on them. However, his second serve was pathetic, as he committed six poor double faults and lost nine of the 16 points
on them. Cagnina utilised the one break opportunity he created and put way both break threats he came across in the opener.
Both players served impressively in the second set, as they held their serve in the first nine games to take the score to 5-4 in favour of Bennett. Serving to stay in the set at that moment, Cagnina faltered under pressure and
managed to win only one point, going down 4-6.
Bennett served brilliantly, bombarding three aces and 63 percent of the first serves in the second set. He had an above average conversion rate, securing 18 of the 22 first and seven of the 13 second delivery points. The Brit smacked
13 winners and made 12 unforced errors.
Carrying the winning momentum into the decider, Bennett captured opening two games to build a 2-0 lead. However, Cagnina did not take much time to come on equal terms, claiming next two games to level the score at 2-2. The Belgian
hit the final blow in the ninth and served it out at 5-4.
Cagnina’s second serve continued to be poor, as he committed a couple of double faults and managed to win just nine of the 20 points on them.
The Belgian contender is drawn to face France’s Mathias Bourgue in the second round.
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