Michael Llodra stuns Igor Sijsling in the quarter-finals – Mons Challenger 2012 CH
Ranked 111th in the South African ATP World Tour Rankings, Michael Llodra, took the better of his opponent in the contest and battled into the semi-finals of the Mons Challenger 2012 held at the hard courts of Belgium. He consolidated his straight sets 6-4, 6-3 victory against the higher ranked Dutch challenger, Igor Sijsling, in approximately one hour.
The Frenchman maintained his intensity since the start of the opening set and swiftly bagged the entire serves without facing any hindrance. In spite of Sijsling’s attempts to cash a break point, he was unable to bag away even a single opportunity. The best indicator was displayed when the score line levelled down thrice but the Dutch professional did not even receive a single opportunity to attain the front. Llodra broke his challenger serve in the last game and gleefully concluded the initial set with a 6-4 lead.
The 32-year-old French professional used his experience to his advantage and bounced five aces onto his rival. He sustained a remarkable initial serve precision of 95 percent, converting all 20 of the first serve points but not even a single delivery points. In comparison to that, his Dutch junior responded back by firing four aces and 41 percent. He also secured all 12 first serve with seven of 17 points.
The second set proved to be a fortunate moment for the French professional, with his breathtaking performance. Although his start off was relatively weak as the scoreboard squared down twice i.e. in the fourth to 2-all and the sixth game to 3-all. The right-hander Sijsling was unable to sustain his former scores, miserably failed against the higher ranked Frenchman and handed over the set after a promising start. Llodra gained momentum as the game kicked forward and dissolved his rival’s serve in the eighth game, trudging a 6-3 win.
The higher ranked French professional had a lower initial serve accuracy of 57 percent but pocketed away all 13 first and seven of 10 delivery points. Sijsling had slightly improved initial serve of 74 percent with 17 of 23 first and one of eight second delivery points.
For the next match, the French contender will battle against the fourth seeded, Tobias Kamke.
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