Nicolas Devilder upsets Michael Berrer to reach the third round – French Open 2012
World number 286, Nicolas Devilder of France, made full use of home crowd’s support, as he defeated Germany’s Michael Berrer, ranked at the 114th spot, in straight sets 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-2 in the second round at the French
Open in Paris.
The Frenchman took two hours and 16 minutes to post win over his German opponent.
Devilder’s ranking is low but he is playing very good at this event. If he continues to perform at the same level, he can give a tough time to his next opponents.
The French player should play confidently and hit his shots aggressively. The 5ft8in tall player has to keep in this mind that he can only beat his higher ranked rivals by attacking them. If he will try to play defensively, they
will start attacking him and then it would be difficult for him to match them.
Talking about his recent match, Devilder and Berrer exchanged a couple of breaks in the first six games to even out the score at 3-3. The rest of the set went with the serves to take it to 6-6 and force a tie-breaker. Both players
went neck to neck till 5-5 but then Devilder won two consecutive points, sealing it 7-6(5).
The Frenchman had a low first serve percentage, as he hit just 47 percent of the first deliveries and claimed 13 of the 16 points on them. He also banged in a couple of aces and 11 winners. The 32-year-old failed to save two of
the three break points he faced but balanced that by converting two of the three he received in the opener.
Devilder and Berrer made a steady start in the second set, holding their serve in the opening four games and taking the score to 2-2. The French contender hit a blow to Berrer in the fifth and capitalised on it to triumph 6-4.
The 5ft 8in tall neither hit an ace nor committed any double fault in the second set. He banged 10 winners and pocketed three of the six net approach points.
After taking two sets to love lead, Devilder came out roaring in the third, as he snatched first four games to race to a 4-0 lead. The Frenchman did not permit Berrer to come back in the contest, winning all of his serves and sealing
it 6-2.
The left-hander kept his first delivery percentage at 53 and converted nine of the 16 of them into points. Boulogne Billancourt, France resident could not hit any ace but smacked 10 winners in the third set.
Devilder said, after the match, "I'm very happy to advance to the third round because obviously this is the first time in a Grand Slam. So being able to experience this after three difficult years with many injuries, obviously
that's very nice. I'm very happy. I'm going to play Djokovic in the next round. Well, what better could I have wished for?"
The Frenchman will lock horns with top seed, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, in the third round.
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