Purav Raja shocks Mate Pavic in the initial qualifying round – Toyota Challenger 2012 CH
Ranked 419th in the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Rankings, Mate Pavic, received a three-set shock at the hands of the Indian junior, Purav Raja, in the initial qualifying round of the 2012 Dunlop
World Challenge Tennis Tournament being held at the courts of Toyota, Japan. The Indian professional penned down his success 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 on the eve of Saturday in approximately one hour and 37 minutes.
The Indian senior commenced the opener at a decent note and gallantly drew the first blood. The Croatian participant demonstrated his aggressive game plan and started to level the score line after every alternate game. Both the
players held their serves the entire time, giving each other a tough competition. Finally, Raja cashed on his challenger’s last serve, pulling out of the initial set with a 6-4 lead.
In the second set, the 19-year-old, Pavic, broke his opponent’s serve in the third game and totally disappointed him. Raja was broke his serve twice, making his former lead impossible. The Croatian junior seemed unstoppable as
he seemed desperate to win the equalizer. Raja broke his serve in the eighth game but was unable sustain the lead. Pavic nudged forward to terminate the set with a 6-4 score line.
The 26-year-old, Raja, thundered forward with five aces but lost his lead because he double faulted six times. He managed to clinch an average first serve precision of 51 percent with just 15 of 20 first and six of 19 second serve
points. On the other hand, the right-hander Croatia contender pocketed away 67 percent serve presentation.
In the final set, the right-hander Indian professional adopted an unusual aggressive strategy and fired frequent powerful forehand to sustain his dominance. His serves proved to be the critical success factor in the decider. He
tactfully finished the match with a 6-2 win.
6ft 2in tall Pavic delivered 75 percent first serve on target and converted seven of 15 points on it. His rival merely bagged away 48 percent initial serve precision with just eight of 10 first and eight of 11 second serve points.
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