Martin Klizan rallies past Jurgen Zopp to reach semis – BNP Paribas Primrose Bordeaux 2012 CH
Slovakian rising star, Martin Klizan, needed three sets to overpower the Estonian contender, Jurgen Zopp, at the BNP Paribas Primrose Bordeaux 2012 on Friday. He summed up a 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(5) score line against the world number 107 to advance into the final four at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event taking place in Bordeaux, France.
Klizan remained solid throughout the match and after capitalising on four out of 14 break opportunities, he pocketed the match in their first meeting. After earning this success in two hours and 39 minutes, the Slovak comfortably advanced into semi-finals at red clay court event.
The Slovakian rising star high-spiritedly entered the Villa Primrose and leaped to a 3-0 lead after drawing the first blood in the third game. He then continued hitting angled shots down the line and held remaining serves, eventually pulling out the opener with a 6-3 score line.
The 24-year-old on the other end carried his losing ways towards the follow-up set and suffered the first blow in the third game to trail at 2-4. However, he stayed calm and grasped his break back in the 10th game, subsequently enforcing a tie-breaker. Zopp conquered his rival in it and clicked the equaliser with a 7-6(4) success.
Ranked 97th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Klizan gifted away his serve in the opening game but carved out the victory after ruling in the tie-breaker. He recovered in the fourth game but only to see himself trailing at 3-4 after losing his serve again. However, the Slovak quickly counterattacked in the very next game and enforced a tie-breaker.
All in all, Klizan manipulated a slightly lower first serve share of 66 per cent as compared to his rival’s 68 per cent but impressively availed 52 out of 69 points on it.
Up next for the Slovak is the Spanish contestant, Roberto Bautista-Agut who triumphed over Australia’s Marinko Matosevic in straight sets to set-up this battle. The Spaniard failed to fend off the lone breakpoint he faced but cashed in half of the six break opportunities to formulate a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
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