Lukas Rosol crushes Paul-Henri Mathieu to reach semis – BNP Paribas Primrose Bordeaux 2012 CH
Czech star, Lukas Rosol, devastated the local wildcard entrant, Paul-Henri Mathieu, with a breadstick at the BNP Paribas Primrose Bordeaux 2012, an ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event held in France. He jolted down a 6-4, 6-1
victory against the veteran to breeze into the last four on Friday.
Rosol displayed superb skills to outclass the former world number 12 in their first match-up. After earning the spotlight in one hour and eight minutes, the Czech assertively progressed into the semi-finals at the Villa Primrose.
The Brno native stepped on the French red clay courts with conviction and drew the first blood in the third game to take the upper hand. He then continued hitting powerful groundstrokes and slid remaining serves, eventually carving out the victory with a
6-4 score line.
Ranked 91st in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Rosol went out of control in the follow-up set and stroke out the opening four games in a row before the French could hold on. The Czech then pocketed the last two games and sealed
the set with a stunning breadstick.
Summing up the Czech’s performance in this battle, Rosol blocked the lone breakpoint he came across and capitalised on four out of nine break chances. He nudged up a slightly higher first serve share of 50 per cent in contrast with the French’s 48 per cent
but impressive availed 21 out of 24 points on it.
He will next confront the Russian qualifier, Teymuraz Gabashvili, who shocked the local star, Nicolas Mahut, in straight sets to set-up this encounter. The Russian blasted away all four breakpoints he faced and cashed in three out of five break chances to
formulate a 6-4, 6-3 score line in one hour and 19 minutes.
The Slovakian star, Martin Klizan, also earned the glory later that day. He summed up a 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(5) success against Estonia’s Jurgen Zopp in two hours and 39 minutes. The 24-year-old lost his concentration in the second set but outclassed his opponent
after ruling in the final set’s tie-breaker.
Next up for Klizan is the Spanish rising star, Roberto Bautista-Agut.
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