Jurgen Melzer undoes Robin Haase in second round of Monte Carlo
Austrian tennis pro Jurgen Melzer scored a lopsided win into the third round of the 2011 Monte Carlo Masters, defeating Robin Haase of the Netherlands in three sets 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. The match was surprisingly short for a three-setter,
lasting barely one hour and thirty minutes.
Robin Haase began the match well, taking the lead easily despite the fact that he is ranked much lower than Melzer at World Number 63. Haase managed to score four aces while his opponent Melzer could only manage one, although both
players committed no double faults. As the match went on, Haase won 75 per cent of the points on his first serve and proceeded to convert all of his break points successfully. The Dutch player was only broken once out of three opportunities. He managed to
take set 6-3, with 64 per cent of the points in nine service and return games.
Spectators felt as if Melzer had given up by this time, but the player hurtled back into the match with new resolve. He played well in the second set, scoring one ace and saving one break point, and converting two successfully.
The player also took 13 of his 18 first serve points, and went on to win the set with a fry and 68 per cent of the points. This pushed the match into three sets.
The third set was also an easy one for Melzer, who is currently ranked within the World’s Top Ten at World Number 9. The 29-year-old blazed into the last set of the match, scoring three aces and committing no double faults while
his opponent fumbled shot after shot. The player also managed a remarkable 81 per cent of his total first serve points, and successfully converted three break points against Haase. By the end of the set, which he won 6-2, the player had 66 per cent of the
total points played.
The match ended with Jurgen Melzer winning from a set down to proceed to the third round of the prestigious 2011 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo. Both players scored five aces apiece during the match, although Melzer did
not commit any double faults and won an impressive 72 per cent of his first serve points. He also managed to take 56 per cent of the total points in the match, after the players went through 12 service and return games apiece.
Their head-to-head record is now 2-0 for Melzer, who defeated Haase once before at the 2008 Poertschach event. That victory was also on clay.
Jurgen Melzer will be facing clay court expert and title winner Nicolas Almagro in the next round at Monte Carlo.
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