Pavol Cervenak outshines Andis Juska in the final round qualifiers of the Tennis Napoli Cup
Third seed Pavol Cervenak of Slovakia continued his brilliant form to outplay Andis Juska of Latvia in the final round of the qualifying draws of the Tennis Napoli Cup at Naples, Italy on Sunday. The three-set matchup was extended
to two hours and six minutes before Cervenak finally settled the score at 6-1, 6-7(6), 6-3, to make it to the main draws of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour tournament.
Apart from the error-ridden second set, the Slovak dominated the contest for most of the time. He wiped out Juska in the opener in just 30 minutes of play before dropping the second set in the tie breaker round. Cervenak broke
through the decisive set with authority once again to dispense the Latvian out of the tournament. His mental resilience and sheer determination was very impressive in the competition, an ability which Juska clearly lacked.
23-year-old Cervenak appeared totally unplayable in the opening set, winning 28 out of 41 total points being played. He served with 70 per cent precision and stung two straight break points to take down the Latvian, who had a sluggish
start to the contest. Juska was taken by surprise as Cervenak ignited the first set with commanding aggression and bagged the set at 6-1.
It looked as if the Slovak would wipe out his opponent comprehensively in the next set but a dramatic turnover took the match to three sets. Cervenak’s game took a sudden downslide in the second set, as he started playing errant
strokes, ending long and wide of the court. Juska took the initiative and kept clinching points on regularity to keep score board ticking on equal terms. The two contestants exchanged a serve break before the scores reach 6-6, imposing a decisive tie breaker.
The decider also went on neck-to-neck but Juska nabbed three straight points to seal the second set at 7-6(6) and level the match to one set a piece.
Another major momentum swing took place in the final set as the Slovak got his flare back. Cervenak bagged 16 of 19 first serve points and stung a crucial serve break in the seventh game of the third set to inch closer to victory.
The Slovak collected 31 out of 55 total points in the set to conclude the contest at 6-3 and got access to the main draws of the Tennis Napoli Cup. Cervenak will now be facing Simon Stadler of Germany his first of the main draw matches at Naples.
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