Martin Klizan dumps Gianluca Naso in quarterfinal – AON Open 2011 CH
Slovakian tennis pro Martin Klizan held his nerves in a tight finish on Friday as he battled past GIanluca Naso of Italy 7-6 (1), 6-3 on Friday to book a semi-final spot at 2011 AON Open Challengers tournament here in Genoa, Italy.
Seeded sixth at the Association of Tennis Professionals Challengers event, Klizan has been in commanding form since the start of this week. In the opening two rounds, he did not allow his opponent a sniff on the big points. His
ability to handle pressure is playing a crucial in his success and now in the absence of other top seeded players, he will certainly fancy his chances to lift this trophy.
Klizan made a very shaky start to the match as he struggled to get his first serves in early on in the match. Naso, who was well prepared for the match, made him pay heavily by adapting a more aggressive approach on his serve.
Breaking the serve in fourth game of the opening set, Naso took a crucial 3-1 lead.
Known for his fighting spirit, Kilzan took his game up a notch play to break straight back levelling the game score 2-2. Both players broke one another once more as the set was forced into a tie-breaker. Naso failed to handle the
pressure in the tie-breaker as he leaked crucial points.
Forcing errors from his rival, Klizan established complete control over the contest. Dashing a big forehand winner cross court, the Slovakian set up five set points for himself and then converted the first one to pocket the opening
set.
Ranked 103rd in the world, Klizan continued to play his natural game freely in the second as well. With his well disguised drop shot, he earned several cheap points on his opponent’s serve. Breaking the serve twice,
he raced to an impassable lead and although Naso broke back one to reduce the game score deficit, he couldn’t stop the challenger from earning deserving victory in a match that lasted for 2 hours and 11 minutes on the clay courts of Genoa.
Kilzan is pleased with his form this season this season. Following some consistent performances, he has improved his ATP ranking considerably. If he can keep playing his A-game in the upcoming matches as well, he has great chance
of claiming this title. His opponent in the semi-final will be Frederico Gil, who eased past Alessandro Giannessi 7-5, 6-1 earlier in the day.
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