Michael McClune dismisses Phillip Simmonds in the first round – Sacramento Challenger 2012 CH
Right-hander, Michael McClune, registered a victory over his compatriot, Phillip Simmonds, in the first round of the Sacramento Challenger 2012, United States. He summed his three-set thriller 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 at the hard courts of
California, in one hour and 32 minutes on the eve of Tuesday.
The 26-year-old, Simmonds, commenced the opener with his high graded performance, drawing the first blood and stamping a 2-1 score by the end of the third game. He cashed his rival’s serve twice i.e. in the fourth and the sixth
game, blocking all his chances to win. He dusted away McClune and wrapped up the set with a bread stick.
The 23-year-old had a below average initial serve precision of 47 percent with five of seven first but simply two of eight second delivery points. Lower ranked, Simmonds fired five aces, with 65 percent initial serve precision.
He converted a decent score of 12 of 13 first and four of seven second serve points. From the five serve break chances, he won only two but his native American was unable to attain even one.
Ranked 375th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, McClune, lifted his game in the second set. Despite of his former loss, he boldly brushed away his rival in the fourth game by dissolving his serve in
the next game. Simmonds completely lost his confidence and pulled out of the set by reeling off the last three games in a row.
The 6ft 2in Californian native, McClune, entered in the decider with a strong determination to grab the victory. He completely broke his opponent’s confidence, unleashing his class again on him. He received his desirable 4-0 lead
by completely breaking his rival’s serve. He smoothly held his serve the entire time and capitalized on the last break chance, ultimately he stole the final set with a 6-1 victory.
McClune displayed a relatively improved initial serve accuracy of 68 percent with 11 of 13 first and three of six second delivery points. His challenger double faulted twice at the critical moments in the match and secured 54 percent
initial serve with just seven of 13 points.
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