Marius Copil upsets Ricardas Berankis in the first round – Slovak Open 2012 CH
Romania’s low ranked participant, Marius Copil, played bravely to dismiss the sixth seed, Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania, in three sets 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the opening round of the Slovak Open in Bratislava. The Romanian national
needed one hour and 40 minutes to post this tough win over Berankis.
Copil and Berankis did not face any difficulty in holding their serves in the first half of the opening set and squared off the proceeding at 3-3. The Romanian contender was able to sustain pressure in a 24-point marathon service
game, in which he put away five break threats. That effort shifted the momentum in Copil’s favour, as he hit a blow to Berankis in the eighth and capitalised on it to win 6-3.
The Romanian participant pounded six aces compared to just three by his seeded rival. The 22-year-old could maintain first serve percentage of merely 50 but was able to win 15 of the 21 points on them. The Arad, Romania resident
put away all the five break threats he came across and utilised the one he created in the opener.
Second set went with serve in the first five games, taking the score to 3-2 in favour of Berankis. The Lithuanian contestant stung a break in the sixth to move ahead 4-2 and maintained his advantage till the end, triumphing 6-3.
Berankis matched his first set’s performance of three aces in the second one. The Lithuanian national drastically improved his serve performance, keeping his first delivery percentage at 77 and securing 17 of the 20 points on them.
The right-hander did not face any break point and converted the one he received.
As the score got tied at one set apiece, the match was taken to the deciding set. Both players went neck to neck in the first nine games to take the score to 5-4 in favour of Copil. Berankis managed to win just two points on his
serve in the 10th and went down 4-6.
Copil is slated to play the Belarusian player, Uladzimir Ignatik, in the second round. Ignatik outlasted Slovakian qualifier, Miloslav Mecir, in the opener.
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