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Radek Stepanek evaded an upset to beat Xavier Malisse in round one – Apia International Sydney 2012

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Radek Stepanek evaded an upset to beat Xavier Malisse in round one – Apia International Sydney 2012
In an enthralling opening round battle at the Apia International Sydney, world number 31, Radek Stepanek, forced his way to victory against the 63rd ranked Belgian, Xavier Malisse, on Tuesday. The eighth seeded Czech competitor laboured hard for
one hour and twenty eight minutes before he got hold of victory at 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4.
Being played on the outdoor hard courts of the NSW Tennis Centre in Sydney, Australia, the competition witnessed an amazing display of resilience and skills from the former world number eight, Stepanek. The Czech suffered a huge blow by losing the opening
set but recovered with great masterly to turn the tables on Malisse in the later parts of the match, earning a place in the round of 16 of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 event.
Stepanek’s victory extended his head-to-head lead by 5-3 against the Belgian opponent in singles encounters and moved him one step closer to win the Australian Open warm-up tournament. The 33-year-old veteran banged in 14 thudding aces and secured 55 out
of 74 first serve points to dispose of Malisse from the competition in a convincing fashion.
No serve breaks were seen in the opening set and both men kept on playing conventional tennis to keep the score board ticking on even terms. Malisse squandered away three break opportunities in the opener but also defended the one he faced from his opponent
to drag the set into a tie-breaker round. Stepanek failed to capitalise on a couple of crucial opportunities and let his opponent take the decider at 7-6(4).
The following set was ignited with two consecutive break point conversions from the eighth seed Czech, followed by one from Malisse. However, the Belgian kept trailing in the set and Stepanek eventually wrapped it up at 6-4 to level the match at one-all.
One serve break in the seventh game of the final set proved sufficient for the eighth seed to conclude his hard-fought victory at 6-4, marching into the second round of the Apia International Sydney in style. He will face the Finn qualifier, Jarkko Nieminen,
in the next clash for a place in the quarter-finals of the tournament.

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