Michael McClune, Dane Webb move into final qualifying round – Tulsa Challenger 2011
Number one seed Michael McClune of United States thrashed out German Lars Behlen 6-1, 6-2 on Sunday to book his place in the final qualifying round of 2011 TULSA Open qualification tournament here in Oklahoma, United States.
The American looked in control right from the start of the match. Pushing his opponent right back to the baseline, he used the angles on his shots from wide off the court very effectively. Making the most of his chances, he converted
four out ten break points to put himself in the driving seat in match that lasted for only sixty four minutes.
Behlen, on the other hand, failed to put up a decent show as he lacked fire power in several important areas of the game. Unable to get any timing on his shots, the German made a large number of unforced errors during the contest,
which of course proved to be crucial in deciding the outcome of the clash.
Looking for a place in the final round of the ATP Challengers tournament, McClune made a strong start to the contest. Breaking the serve in the very first game of the opening set, he dented his opponent’s confidence levels. Playing
his natural game freely, he smashed big forehand and backhand winners all over the court to take a handsome 4-1 lead. Breaking the serve twice, he pocketed the opener to take the set score lead 1-0.
The second set also followed a similar pattern as McClune continued to put pressure on his rival with some high quality tennis. Coming to the every now and then, he surprised his opponent with his well disguised drop shots. Breaking
the serve two more times, he raced to an impassable 5-2 lead. Clinching four straight points on his next service game, he served out the match in emphatic fashion.
McClune was delighted with his strong effort and he aimed to give similar results in his upcoming match-up as well.
In another match, number eight seed Dane Webb secured a marvellous 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Maniel Bains of Great Britain to advance into the final round on Sunday.
Webb made a shaky start to the match as he missed a few easy scoring opportunities early on. However, as the match progressed the American raised his game to higher level and he started to time the ball really well.
Despite losing the opening set, Webb came back brilliantly to clinch the next set with an important break of serve. He then dropped only a couple of games in the final set to complete a superb victory.
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