Maxime Teixeira enters second round as Edouard Roger-Vasselin retires – Orleans Challenger 2011
Two French Internationals, Maxime Teixeira and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, locked horns in the first round of the Orleans Challenger Tournament, hosted in France, on Tuesday October 18th. First meeting between the two Internationals
didn’t finish in normal fashion because Roger-Vasselin retired due to fatigue. The game was played for an hour and twenty-seven minutes before the match favourite disappointedly retired whilst he was leading the game with one set; final score 7-6(4), 2-3.
The seventh seeded French had won six of his last ten encounters whilst his opponent had won five of his last ten. Roger-Vasselin was a better player considering his superior rank, better form and greater fan following. Teixeira
had a lucky break as the seventh seeded couldn’t cope with the heat and fatigue at the pitch.
The game was heading towards another triumph for the seeded French but he ran out of energy to contest further and it was possibly the dehydration that forced him out of contest. It’s a lucky break for his country mate and an unlucky
return for the 27-year-old, Roger-Vasselin.
The first set was a thriller. Neck to neck battle continued until the last point. Both players broke their opponent’s serve once and capitalized in their own serves to extend the set into the tie-breaker. The weather was very hot
and so was the contest at the pitch.
One aces apiece for both players and just three double faults from the inexperienced Teixeira and one double fault from his counterpart are some of the stats that moulded the first set into an electrifying gala.
The minute difference of just 3% between the successful first serves and 5% difference in the successful second serve rate clearly depicts the proximity of the game play between the two players. Teixeira saved seven out of eight
break point opportunities for the seventh seed and forced his competitor to work hard and earn each and every point.
World No.101 seventh seed, Roger-Vasselin, stole the first set under the nose of his opponent after clinching the crucial last two points in the tie breaker and inched one step closer to confirm his second round spot but who knew
that he will not be able to complete this match either. He won the first set with a diminutive difference of just four points and ended up securing 49 points out of the total of 94 played.
Only five games of the second set could be played before the 27-year-old surrendered due to dehydration and fatigue. The set was relatively evenly poised with the score of 2-3 in favour of Teixeira but a disappointing end to the
match saw him clinching a lucky break and placing a berth in the second round draws.
Maxime Teixeira will now face the Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis in the second round of the tournament.
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