Marinko Matosevic rallies past Robert Farah into the last eight – BMW Open 2012
In a match between two qualifiers, Marinko Matosevic of Australia downed Colombia’s Robert Farah in three sets 6-1, 6-7(2), 6-2 in the second round at the BMW Open in Munich, Germany on Thursday. The Australian needed two hours
and 28 minutes to outplay world number 210, Farah, in a hard fought encounter.
Matosevic came roaring in the match, as he grabbed opening five games to secure a 5-0 lead. Farah finally succeeded in holding his serve, reducing the deficit to 1-5 but lost next game to go down 1-6.
The 122nd ranked, Matosevic, banged in a single ace and the same number of double fault in the opener. He gave an average performance on his serves, hitting 61 percent of the first deliveries and claiming 15 of the 22
points on them. Nevertheless, he was brilliant on the second returns, as he captured amazingly seven of the 10 points on them.
The second set saw a stable start from both players, as they did not drop their serve in the first four games, equalising the score at 2-2. Matosevic struck in the fifth and consolidated on it to grab a 4-2 advantage. The Australian
was near victory, as he served for the match at 5-4 but lost it to even it out at 5-5. It was taken to a tie-breaker, as Matosevic and Farah held in the next two games. Farah outperformed the Australian, allowing him to win just two points and winning it 7-6(2).
The Colombian smacked three aces and 70 percent of the first serves, snatching 20 of the 31 points on them. The 6ft 4in tall managed to save four of the five break points he faced and converted one of the two he received in the
second set.
Matosevic raised the level of his game in the decider, making a breakthrough in the fourth game and winning his following serve to gain a 4-1 lead. The Australian allowed Farah to claim only one more, striking again and capitalising
on the double blow to triumph 6-2.
Just like the opener, Matosevic delivered one ace and made equal number of double fault. The Melbourne, Australia resident kept his first serve percentage at 69 and bagged 13 of the 18 points on them. He pocketed seven of the 14
first and five of the 10 second return points in the final set.
Matosevic will play home favourite, Philipp Kohlschreiber, in the quarter-final.
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