Matthew Barton, Michael Look proceed to the round of 16 – Shimadzu Kyoto Challenger 2012
Matthew Barton ousts Raven Klaasen 7-6(4), 6-7(6), 6-4
Qualifier Matthew Barton upset world number 255 Raven Klaasen in three sets 7-6(4), 6-7(6), 6-4 in the first round at the Shimadzu Kyoto Challenger in Japan on Tuesday. The Australian, Barton, took two hours and 24 minutes to overpower
Klaasen in a close encounter.
Klaasen took an early lead, breaking the Australian in the very first game of the match to move ahead 1-0. Though, Barton came back immediately to even out the score at 1-1. The South African once again went ahead in the fifth
game but Barton clawed his way back, squaring off the score at 5-5. The set was taken into a tie-breaker, where the Australian grabbed three consecutive points to claim it 7-6(4).
Barton and Klaasen did not lose their serve throughout the second set and levelled the score at 6-6, forcing another tie-breaker. The Australian raised the level of his game in the end and sealed it 7-6(6).
Both players exchanged a break of serve in the first three games of the third set, taking the score to 3-3. Serving at 4-5, Klaasen failed to hold his serve, dropping it 4-6.
Barton will take on third seed, Tatsuma Ito of Japan, in the next round.
Michael Look beats Chu-Huan Yi 6-4, 7-6(4)
World number 347 Michael Look prevailed over Chu-Huan Yi of Chinese Taipei in straight sets 6-4, 7-6(4) to qualify for the second round in Kyoto.
Yi and Look won their serve in the first nine games of the opener, taking the score to 5-4 in favour of the latter. Yi was unable to bag even one point in the 10th game, losing it 4-6.
The Australian pounded four aces and 76 percent of the first serves in the first set. The 24-year-old won majority of the points on his first serve, sealing 18 of the 22 of them.
Look and the Taiwanese did not drop their serve throughout the second set to tie the score at 6-6. Look was under pressure in the first and fifth game but the Australian played accurately to avoid the threat. The set was taken
into a tie-breaker. Look clinched a couple of mini-breaks to capture it 7-6(4).
The Australian put away both break points his opponent got. The match lasted for only an hour and 23 minutes.
Look is drawn to face second seed, Malek Jaziri of Tunisia, in the second round. Jaziri had to bring out his best game to beat Denys Molchanov in the previous match.
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