Marcelo Demoliner defeats Eladio Neto in last qualifying round – Sao Leopoldo Challenger 2011
In an all-round Brazilian final qualifying match of Sao Leopoldo Challenger tournament, Marcelo Demoliner locked horns with Eladio Ribeiro Neto. The match was contested in Brazil on Sunday October 30th and lasted for an hour and fifty-one minutes. Fourth seeded, Demoliner, defeated fifth seeded, Neto, with a final score of 7-6(4), 6-2.
The head-to-head tally was levelled with one wins for both players and it was expected to be a very close battle but it seemed like that after the loss of the first set, Neto lost heart and didn’t gave his 100% in the second set to turn things around.
Spectators were cheering every point won as both players were local. They were expecting a thrilling three-setter but a tamed effort from the fifth seed disappointed them a bit.
22-year-old started the match on a low note but picked up pace in the middle of the set. He took the lead of 4-2 by breaking his opponent serve and also struck an ace in the meantime. The lead was short-lived as his opponent broke his serve and squared the score at 4-4.
Two more breaks were exchanged in the next two games and score was pushed to 5-5 and then to 6-6. Tie-breaker was enforced; Neto took the lead with an ace but ruined it with two double-faults on trot that cost him the set.
First serve success rate was relatively the similar but there was a massive difference between the success rates of second serve; Demoliner secured 62% second serve points whilst his opponent could only bag 31% points. This was the major factor that decided the first set in favour of Demoliner.
Second set saw flurry of breaks from the start as both players exchanged breaks in the first two games. Neto held on to his serve for the first and last time in the third game as a complete all-round assault from his opponent started from the fourth game and continued till the end of the match.
Fourth seeded, Demoliner won five games in succession that contained two breaks. He was on fire in this little short period and nailed his opponent in all departments of the game. He started this onslaught with an ace and mixed his stroke play with drop shots and fierce forehands and backhands that rocked the crowd.
A terrible time at the pitch forced a double-fault from the 25-year-old, Neto, who was totally slaughtered to say the least. He totally lost heart and could only win 19 points in the second set whilst his opponent won 32.
Victory for the fourth seed Marcelo Demoliner placed him the berth on the main draw of the tournament where he faces Martin Alund in the first round.
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