Martin Alund ousts Fernando Romboli in 1st round - Ciudad de Guayaquil CH 2011
Argentinean Martin Alund crushed Brazilian Fernando Romboli in the first round of the Ciudad de Guayaquil Challenger 2011.
At the classic clay courts of the Guayaquil Tennis Club in Guayaquil, Ecuador, the two rivals clashed against each other and It took Arentinean Alund one hour and thirty four minutes to get the best of Brazilian Romboli in straight sets of 6-2, 7-6(6) on Monday the 21st of November 2011.
Romboli had decided to serve first but he was unable to hold his service in the first and the third games of the opening round. On the contrary, Alund held his serve for the second and the fourth game to reel off four consecutive games and take a mini lead on the scoreboard by also capitalizing on two breakpoints.
It was in the fifth game that Romboli made a return by holding his serve. He managed to reduce the deficit to 2-5 but that is how far he went in the opening set. Mean while, Alund held his serve in the seventh game and was now only a game away but he was unable to close the set immediately in the next game. As Alund held his serve for the last time, he smashed a beautiful forehand winner to secure the opening set with a 6-2 victory to go one up in the match.
The second set was also commenced by Romboli and this time he was able to hold his respective service game to initiate the scoreboard at 1-0. Trailing in his footsteps was Alund and he too held his service game to place himself beside his opponent at 1-1 on the scoreboard.
Romboli skilfully managed a hold of serve in the third game and then capitalized on a breakpoint in the very next. At the end of the fourth game the score had shifted to 3-1 with Romboli leading the set. Subsequently, in the following two games, the players expertly bagged a game each and Romboli was still leading with a hold of serve and break.
In a reversal of fate, Alund capitalized on a breakpoint in the seventh game to lessen the deficit to 3-4 and in the eighth game he completely reduced the deficit by capitalizing on a crucial break to equalize the score at four games each.
The players kept matching a blow for a blow and at the end of the tenth game the score had balanced out at five games each. As the score progressed on even terms, the last time the score levelled out was at six games each and at the end of the twelfth game the set was shoved into a tiebreaker.
The neck-on-neck run carried well into the tiebreaker and the two challengers matched an eye for an eye. With an array of breaks and holds the score tied at six points each at the end of the twelfth point. However, from there onwards Alund reeled two successive games to clinch the tiebreaker at 8-6.
The Argentinean managed to save a spot in the second round of the tournament where he will be facing either fourth seeded Spanish Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo or Uruguayan Marcel Felder.
Tags: