Kimmer Coppejans cripples Filip Peliwo to lift Boys’ Singles title – Roland Garros 2012
Belgian contender, Kimmer Coppejans, crippled the fifth seed, Filip Peliwo, with a breadstick to claim the Boys’ Singles title at French Open 2012 on Sunday. He carved out a 6-1, 6-4 victory against the 18-year-old Canadian at this second of the four Grand
Slam event held in Paris, France.
The sixth seeded Belgian made his nation proud after conquering the Australian Open runner-up, Peliwo, in straight sets at this prestigious clay court event taking place from 22nd May to 10th June. Battling each other for the first
time, Coppejans became the first Belgian to lift the Roland Garros title since Jacky Brichant in 1947.
"I'll move on to Wimbledon as a champion! That will give me confidence," said the Belgian in a courtside interview after ruling the match. "People are going to start to recognise me I guess, but this win doesn't change anything for me. I’m just going to
keep on working."
Coppejans thundered into the Court number Two and jumped to a 3-0 lead after drawing the first blood in the second game. After Peliwo held his serve in the fourth game, the Belgian reeled off the last three games and pulled out the opener with a breadstick.
Ranked 1921st in the South African Airways ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Rankings, Coppejans kept momentum rolling into the follow-up set and earned the coveted break in the third game to leap to a 3-1 lead. He then maintained
consistency in his game and held remaining serves, eventually registering a 6-4 success.
All in all, the winning teenager displayed tremendous skills throughout the match. He formulated a slightly lower first serve share of 54 per cent as compared to his rival’s 55 per cent and impressively marked 22 out of 29 points on it. He also clobbered
fewer unforced errors and sealed the deal with 63 points.
The Belgian teenager has never gone beyond the third round of any Grand Slam tournament but broke his jinx at the French Open. He made a slow start here and gifted away his opening serve to the Israeli qualifier, Bar Tzuf Botzer. However, he made an epic
comeback and overpowered the Israeli. Coppejans lifted his game in the pre-quarters and crushed ninth seeded Mateo Nicolas Martinez with a breadstick. The in-form Belgian then overpowered Britain’s Kyle Edmund and eighth seeded Mitchell Krueger in straight
sets before setting this final battle.
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