Pavol Cervenak outlasts Marsel Ilhan in the first round – UniCredit Open 2012 CH
On the day of upsets, Slovakia’s Pavol Cervenak did not stay behind and stunned world number 124, Marsel Ilhan of Turkey, in three sets 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round at the UniCredit Open in Czech Republic on Wednesday.
Cervenak got off to an ideal start, as he grabbed opening three games to attain a 3-0 advantage. The Slovakian made the most of his lead, as he did not lose his own serve even once and closed it 6-3.
The Cologne, Germany resident gave a mixed performance on his serve in the first set. He pounded a couple of aces but also committed three double faults. The right-hander had a low first delivery percentage of 46 but did amazingly
well to capture 12 of the 13 points on them. He also did a good job on the returns, winning five of the 15 first and five of the nine second reply points.
Ilhan responded exactly in the same fashion, as his opponent had done in the first set. He broke the Slovakian in the second game and won his following serve to build a 3-0 lead. The Turk did not let away the advantage and served
it out at 5-3.
The Samarkand, Uzbekistan born smacked a single ace and made an equal number of double faults. He maintained a first delivery percentage of 65 and converted 15 of the 26 of them into points. The right-hander saved both break points
he faced and converted one of the six he received in the second set.
Ilhan and Cervenak made a stable start in the decider, as they did not allow each other to break in the first seven games and took the score to 4-3 in the favour of the latter. The Slovakian managed to earn a breakthrough in the
eighth and capitalised on it to win 6-3.
The 6ft 3in tall, Cervenak, hit two aces and committed one double fault in the final set. He put in 67 percent of the first serves and secured 17 of the 20 points on them. In comparison, Ilhan gave a below average performance on
serve, as he hit just 57 percent of the first deliveries, winning just eight of the 13 points. The Slovakian availed the only break chance he created and avoided both threats he faced on his own serve.
Cervenak required two hours and 16 minutes to oust his higher ranked opponent from the tournament.
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