Michal Przysiezny stuns Karol beck in the first round – IPP Open 2011 CH
Pole Michal Przysiezny shrunk the head-to-head lead of Slovak Karol Beck with a victory in the first round of IPP Open Challenger tournament, contested in hard court, Greenset in Helsinki, Finland. The match was won in straight
sets 6-3, 7-6(3) in just over an hour and 32 minutes.
Przysiezny was going through a very rough time at the courts and had lost bulk of his encounters lately while his opponent was in good run of form having won majority of his recent encounters. Beck standing firm at World No.100,
145 ranks above his rival and all factors running in his favour, it was clear that Slovak will easily cruise into the second round but tables were turned over him as he faced a majestic upset by the Pole.
Beck was leading the head-to-head tally with 3-1 score and was looking to improve it further but he knew little that his opponent had other plans. Considering the fact that both players were not from Finland, still there was sizeable
crowd that gathered to witness this epic upset.
Slovak started confidently as he broke his opponent’s serve in the first game of the match and took 2-0 lead upfront. Pole was already struggling to explore his supreme form and such a heartbreaking start further enhanced his misery.
Pole didn’t lost heart and broke back in the fourth game to level to score at 2-2. Match was perfectly poised at that stage and Przysiezny held his serve to take 3-2. He flabbergasted his superior ranked rival by breaking once
again in the sixth game and took 4-2 lead.
Beck tried his level best to break back and was allotted with three opportunities on different occasions but he couldn’t grasp any of them and hence lost the first set that stunned everyone at the arena. Four aces by the Pole in
the first set was the proof of his power show that was loved by the audience.
Second set started in conventional manner and both players met blow to blow and held their serves to take the score to a tie-breaker. No breaks were won by any of the two contenders but the power play from the Pole continued as
he smashed 5 more aces compared to just 2 of his opponent.
Slovak had to win this tie-breaker and the immense pressure forced him to commit a silly mistake as he struck the straightforward forehand out of the court. Pole didn’t make any mistake and clinched the first set win in style.
Michal Przysiezny squares-off against the local qualifier, Timo Nieminin.
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