Marek Michalicka, Jan-Lenard Struff advance to the last four – TEAN International 2011 CH
Marek Michalicka beats Jonathan Eysseric 7-6(7), 6-4
Czech Marek Michalicka, ranked 619th in the world, defeated world number 302 Jonathan Eysseric of France in straight sets 7-6(7), 6-4 in the quarterfinals at the TEAN International Tennis Tournament in Alphen, Netherlands
on Friday. The match lasted for an hour and 46 minutes.
Michalicka and the French held their serve in the first eight games of the first set to level the score at 4-4. The Czech broke Eysseric in the ninth game but failed to serve out the set in the next game, equalising the score at
5-5. Michalicka and the French won their following two service games to take the set to a tie-break. The Czech bagged a late mini-break to seal the tie-break 9-7.
Eysseric drew the first blood in the second set, breaking the Czech in the second game to grab a 2-0 lead. Michalicka broke back in the fifth game and claimed his next service game, squaring off the score at 3-3. The Czech broke
again in the ninth game and capitalised on it to grab the set 6-4.
Michalicka is drawn to face Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands in the semi-finals.
Jan-Lennard Struff defeats Jan Mertl 6-4, 6-2
World number 253 Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany moved one step closer to the title as he knocked out Czech Jan Mertl, ranked 260th in the world, in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 to book his place in the last four. The German
needed just an hour and 25 minutes to claim victory.
Struff and the Czech held their serve in the first six games, levelling the score at 3-3. The German broke Mertl in the seventh game and consolidated on it to grab a 5-3 lead. Struff served out the set in the tenth game, sealing
it 6-4. The German delivered three aces and 55 percent of the first serves, committing a couple of double faults in the opening set. Struff returned very well, claiming seven of the seventeen first return points and one of the four break points he received
in the first set.
The German dominated the second set from its beginning, breaking Mertl in the opening game and consolidating on it to go ahead 2-0. The 21-year-old served exceptionally well, bombarding four aces and capturing nine of the ten points
on the first serve in the second set.
Struff is slated to take on fifth seed Augustin Gensse of France in the semi-finals.
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