Pierre-Hughes Herbert edges past Yann Marti into main draw – Orleans Challenger 2011
Swiss International, Yann Marti, locked horns with Frenchman, Pierre-Hughes Herbert in the final qualifying round of Orleans Challenger Tournaments, hosted in France, on Sunday October 16th. It was the first encounter
between the two players and definitely an exciting one. Herbert ended up winning the match in an hour and thirty-nine minutes with a cumulative score of 6-1, 1-6, 6-4.
Sizeable crowd had gathered to support their national star and this was one of the reasons for some unforced errors drawn by Marti during the third set. The atmosphere was so electrifying and everyone loved every second of the
neck to neck battle.
Herbert had won his previous nine out of ten matches and was enjoying the supreme form. He was calm and composed and took full advantage of the local crowd by lifting their spirits after every successful rally.
Marti was having a shaky time on the courts winning just six of his last nine encounters. So, it was obvious that he was under pressure to perform and win but ranking, form and support were tilting the result against his favour.
The first set was totally about the French International who had a firm footing in every aspect of the game. He didn’t allow any chance whatsoever to his opponent to have any sort of impact and cruised past him in the first set.
It was another disappointing start for the Swiss International and a major setback.
French International aced five times and broke his opponent’s serve twice to seal the first set victory. He won 65% of the total points and registered a thumping first and second serves points winning rate of 75% and 78% respectively.
There was nothing that is commendable about the performance of the Swiss in the first set.
Second set was all about the Swiss International who came up with a perfect reply and thumped the French International on the back foot with his exciting run of play; struck two fuming aces and sneaked the two break points required
to win the set in a commanding fashion.
World No.319 looked a bit in despair throughout the second set and couldn’t adjust again after the break. He was frustrated with his performance and the stage was set for an exciting final set; it was time to produce a classy display
of talent and skill along with some composure to adhere to the basic requirements.
The neck to neck battle continued for the first eight games of the set as both players pushed the score to four games apiece but then Herbert came on top and pressurized Marti with his corner to corner to play. The fatigued legs
of the Swiss forced him to make some unforced errors at the crucial stages of the tenth game that lost him the battle.
Four aces, two break points and a total of 30 points out of 58 played were good enough for the French to steal victory and place a berth in the main draw of the tournament. Herbert will now face Latvian qualifier, Andis Juska in
the first round of the tournament.
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