Philipp Petzschner crawls into the last four; Benjamin Becker loses – Ortisei Challenger 2011
Philipp Petzschner defeated his compatriot German Benjamin Becker after an intense three-setter at Ortisei, Bross Slides arena in Italy. It was the third meeting between the two contestants that lasted for almost two hours and
twenty-minutes; it ended with another triumph for Petzschner over his compatriot and he placed his berth in the semi-final of Ortisei Challenger tournament.
The first set was pure class from both ends. There were several chances for both players to break their competitor’s serve but no one could capitalize on any allotted opportunities. Eight aces were shared equally by the two contestants.
It was a traditional start with no drama throughout the set and both players continued to impress spectators with their emphatic technique and control over their serves. Tie-breaker was enforced as the score was tied at 6-6, hence,
there was no chance left for any of the two to make any sort of mistake.
Petzschner fell for the trap and couldn’t return a delicately placed drop shot and struck it straight into the net that gave advantage to his opponent who grasped it with both hands and sealed the first set win with nothing to
spare at all.
Both players held their serves in the second set as well and top seed was nailed down in aces department but he covered his shortcomings by doing the basic rights; he pushed the match into another tie-breaker and this time made
no mistake and clinched the second set win.
Becker was a bit frustrated because he was so close to break his rival’s serve at two occasions but he couldn’t grasp the opportunity and in the end lost the set with a meagre effort to play a forceful backhand that landed outside
the sidelines of the court.
Everyone was eager to know whether the top seed would make it to the semi-final or fell short of expectations of the viewers. Third set kicked-off in aggressive manner Petzschner stood firm and played some outrageous returns that
were out of the reach of his compatriot; he sealed the first game win by breaking his rival’s serve and took lead of two games upfront by holding on to his serve.
Becker looked tired, hence, couldn’t play his natural game. He wanted to perform but his fatigued legs didn’t support his cause and he faced another break from his opponent in the seventh game of the set and score cruised to 5-2
in the favour of top seed.
Last game was held by the top seed to place a berth in the semi-final where he plays Czech Jan Hernych.
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