Michael Berrer crushes Marsel Ilhan to power into main draw – China Open 2012
Seeded sixth in the qualifying competition, Michael Berrer from Germany took down the Turkish challenger, Marsel Ilhan, with a bagel at the China Open 2012 on Saturday. He jolted down a 6-3, 6-0 victory against the Turk to advance into the opening round
at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 Series event held in Beijing, China.
The German seed barely sweated in the second set, eventually pulling out the victory in one hour and 14 minutes. Battling each other for the first time, Berrer not only secured a place in the main draw but also stayed on path for his maiden ATP career title.
Berrer assertively entered the National Tennis Center in Beijing. He plucked his opening serve and took the initial lead. The German maintained consistency in his game and continued bagging his remaining serves with poise. He got the breakthrough in the
eighth game and ultimately clicked the opener with a 6-3 win. Berrer dusted away both breakpoints he faced and converted one out of two break chances to his advantage.
Ranked 123rd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Berrer went out of control in the proceeding set. He winded up all six games and pulled out the set with a bagel. The German amazingly brushed off all three breakpoints he faced
and cashed in three out of 10 break chances to steal the limelight.
The German veteran showed his class throughout the battle. He smacked six aces and finished the match with 67 points. Berrer produced a higher first serve share of 73 per cent as compared to his rival’s 65 per cent and amazingly marked 29 out of 40 points
on it.
Next challenge for Berrer is the top seed, Novak Djokovic, in the opening round.
The qualifying fifth seed, Alex Bogomolov Jr. will join the German in the main draw. He convincingly kept his entire serves and required a single break of serve in each set to carve out the victory. The Russian capitalised on two out of five break chances
to formulate a 6-3, 6-4 victory in one hour and six minutes.
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