Michael McClune stuns Sam Querrey to move into title match – Tulsa Challenger 2011
American tennis pro Michael McClune came back from a set deficit to upset top seeded Sam Querrey 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 on Saturday to book his place in the final of 2011 TULSA Challengers tournament here in Oklahoma, United States.
Entering the Association of Tennis Professionals tournament as a qualifier, McClune has been in terrific form for the last few weeks. Very few would have expected him to reach that far at the Challengers tournament, considering
his world ranking.
The confidence, he gained in his first few appearances has certainly helped him find his real game. He will be hoping to continue his impressive form in the final as well to lift his first trophy of the season.
Querrey looked on track until the end of the first set, which he won 6-4. However, afterwards, he was unable to play his natural game freely as McClune applied a lot of pressure on him.
Falling to pressure, the top seed made crucial unforced errors in the tie-breaker of second set to let his opponent come back into the match. He will be of course disappointed with the result. Having done all the hard work to reach
semis, world number 116 failed to produce his A game when it mattered the most.
Sam had a decent start to the contest as he managed to hold on to his service games quite comfortably in the opening set. Breaking the serve in the very first game of the match, he surprised his opponent with some high quality
tennis. The contestants struggled break one another afterwards as some highly competitive tennis was witnessed. Holding on to his games core advantage, the American secured the opening set to take the set score lead 1-0.
The second set was also as competitive as the first one as both players displayed some high quality tennis. Showing his incredible serving skills, McClune served brilliantly to stay in the match.
Querrey also raised the level of his game and he successfully secured all of his service games to force the set into a tie-breaker. The balance of the match shifted from one side to another in the tie-breaker as a nail biting battle
was seen. Showing no signs of nerves, McClune clinched a 9-7 win the tie-breaker to take the match into a third set.
Ranked 440th in the world, McClune continued to play aggressively in the decider as well and secured an emphatic victory in match that lasted for nearly 3 hours. In the final, he will be facing compatriot Bobby Reynolds.
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