Malek Jaziri rallies past Jamie Baker in the first round – Istanbul Challenger 2012 CH
Top seeded, Malek Jaziri, rallied past the British contender, Jamie Barker, in the first round of the American Express Istanbul Challenger 2012 held at the hard courts of Turkey. The Tunisian professional summed up his victory
in two hours and 18 minutes, settling the final score line at 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-4, on eve of Tuesday.
The 26-year-old Brit exhibited an excellent game plan in the opener and drew the first blood, bringing the scores line to his 2-1 lead. He did not receive any hindrance in the series but instead broke his rival’s serve in the fourth
and sixth game to lead 5-1. Jaziri did not show much resistance and bestowed the set upon his rival at 1-6 win.
Both players were unable to fire even a single ace in the opener but the Brit had relatively better stats with 62 percent first serve and pocketed 10 of 16 points. Jaziri clamped 56 percent first serve and bagged away five of 10
points on it, along with three of eight second serve points.
The second set reversed the winning order as the 28-year-old regained his lost momentum and steadily held his initial serve. Nonetheless, he received a tough competition at the hands Baker, who squared the scores to 2-all in the
fourth game. The American right-hander broke Jaziri’s serve in the fifth game and secured his 3-2 lead in the series. As he was unable to sustain his serve, the scores levelled to 5-all and eventually ended the set with a tie-break. Jaziri struggled hard to
secure the top spot and emerged with a 7-6(2) win.
World number 243rd British professional secured the initial lead by 2-1 in the third game of the decisive set but immediately the scores levelled to 2-all in the next game. The Tunisian senior reversed the winning order
and broke his rival’s serve, stamping his 3-2 lead. Although Baker tried to upset Jaziri but he received some serious disappointment in the end, losing the set with a 4-6 score.
Ranked 104th in the ATP World Tour Rankings, Jaziri had a lower serve accuracy of 37 percent and but he capitalized seven of 10 points. On the other hand, the right-hander Brit had a 70 percent first serve with 14 of
19 points in the closing.
Jaziri will contest against Radu Albot in the next round of the tournament. He rallied past the Canadian Erik Chvojka, 6-2, 6-2, in his previous matchup.
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