Marinko Matosevic edges past Dudi Sela into the title match – Delray Beach International 2012
Australian qualifier, Marinko Matosevic, fought back from a deficit of one set, beating world number 75 Dudi Sela 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(7) in the semi-final at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships in Florida on Saturday.
The marathon match lasted for two hours and 54 minutes.
Matosevic started the match strongly, making an early breakthrough and racing to a 4-1 lead. However, Sela bounced back and levelled the score at 4-4. The Israeli, Sela, grabbed the last three games to claim the first set 7-5.
The Australian, Matosevic, did not serve well. He committed a couple of double faults. Sela put pressure on his opponent’s second deliveries, claiming 10 of the 17 points on them in the opener.
Just like the first set, Matosevic started with a 4-1 lead in the second. Sela once again fought back from there to square off the score at 4-4. However, this time the Israeli failed to hold his serve in the tenth game and lost
the set 4-6.
In a similar fashion to the first two sets, Matosevic claimed an early breakthrough and went on to take a 5-2 lead. It looked like Sela had the secret to claw his way back, as he saved two match points in the ninth game and won
his serve in the next to equalise the score at 5-5. Both players held their serve in the next two, taking the set to a tie-breaker. The Australian carried on the tradition to go ahead 3-0 but Sela came back to level the score. However, it was Matosevic who
drew the final blood, converting his fifth match point and winning it 9-7.
The Australian hit six horrible double faults but compensated that by saving seven of the eight break points he faced in the decider.
Matosevic assessed, after the match, "I'm very happy but I'm very tired. I was just fighting off cramps (hamstring, right wrist and forearm). In the humidity I just sweat a lot and cramp. I cramped after my match on Wednesday too.
I couldn't serve today because it was too ridiculously windy. I served 12 double faults so when going into the breaker it couldn't get any worse."
On the other hand, Sela said, "He was leading in the first, second and the third but I thought I played much better except for the important points. It was a matter of who was more lucky in this kind of match and he was more lucky."
Matosevic will take on seventh seed, Kevin Anderson of South Africa, in the final.
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