Marsel Ilhan battles pass David Goffin into the semi-final – The Hague Open 2011 CH
Top seeded Turk, Marsel Ilhan, had to go through a real tough time before he finally took down David Goffin of Belgium in the quarter-final of the Hague Open on Friday.
In the matchup being played at Scheveningen, Netherlands, Ilhan strained hard for two hours and fourteen minutes of play before he defeated the Belgian competitor in the three-set thriller, settling the final scores at 4-6, 7-6(3),
6-4, to make it into the semi-finals of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event.
20-year-old Goffin had firm grip over the contest earlier but gradually lost his steam as the game progressed, letting Ilhan make an impactful comeback in the matchup. The Belgian had the opening set under his belt but frittered
away the early advantage to drop the following two sets to finish the competition on the losing side.
Goffin was off to a brilliant start in the opening set and despite of below par serve of merely 40 per cent, he reeled off 10 out of 14 first serve points to get the competitive advantage over his opponent. Ilhan had a cautious
start to the game and continued to hold his serve in the opening three games with hid risk-free tactics. The Belgian sensed the opportunity to take down the top seed’s serve and stung a timely break point to each set point at 5-4. Goffin bagged the opener
in style by serving out of it at 6-4, getting a one-set lead in the contest.
The following set witnessed some passionate tennis from the two contestants, with a number of serve breaks being fired from both ends. Ilhan dropped serve twice but registered two break points to fight back into the competition,
enforcing a tie breaker round, after the scores were dead locked at 6-6. Goffin botched to carry on his good run in the tie breaker round and crumbled easily to grant the second set to Ilhan at 6-7(3).
Once getting in to the winning momentum, the Turk never looked back in the contest and forced his way through the final set. The top seed converted two of his three break opportunities in the matchup to reach 6-4, sealing an emphatic
victory and earning a place in the semis of the Hague Open.
Ilhan will take on Augustin Gensse of France in the next round for a place in the final of the tournament. Gensse was successful against the local hope, Matwe Middelkoop in the quarter-final, defeating the Dutch after a tough fight,
5-7, 6-0, 7-6(6).
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