Rajeev Ram crashes out as Vasek Pospisil wins final round qualifier – 2012 Aircel Chennai Open
On January 2, 2012, the final round of the men’s qualifying singles competition of the 2012 Aircel Chennai Open were held in Doha between Canadian Vasek Pospisil and American Rajeev Ram.
The Canadian dominated the match and won it 6-1, 6-7(2), 6-3.
As the first set began, both players stated off with an offensive strategy by concentrating on their service games. This helped as none of them conceded any unforced errors. They only scored with a single ace which showed their service games were very much
controlled as neither one of them wanted their opponent to get free points. Pospisil had a 58% first serve winning ratio while Ram had a 40% rate, clearly depicting Canadian’s dominance. Both players an equal number of points from their first serve with Pospisil
winning 63% points and Ram bagging 67% points.
In terms of points won from second serve, Pospisil had an upper hand by securing 64% points while Ram could only maintain a 33% rate. Pospisil remained in control of the match by saving both of his breakpoints and getting a leverage to get a lead in the
first set. Ram had troubles facing Pospisil as he could only save two out of the four breakpoints he faced in the set. Ram remained on the defensive throughout the first set and lost to Pospisil 1-6.
With the second set in progress, Pospisil retained his upper hand by scoring five aces but his fast paced service games led him in conceding two double faults. On the other hand, Ram could not secure any ace and did concede a single double fault. The Canadian
was in command of the second set by securing an 82% first serve winning ratio while Ram could barely touch the 50% mark and had a first serve winning ratio of 47%.
However, Ram did play an effective game with his serves when he won an impressive 94% points from his first serves and 72% from his second. Pospisil also had a good run with his first serves for getting 81% points but his performance decreased as he won
50% from his second serve. It was interesting to note that neither of the two players conceded any breakpoint and remained competitive. Their good game play took the set into a tie breaker which Ram won 7-6(2).
After Ram’s great comeback in the second set, the third set turned out to be the decider. Pospisil scored three aces but Ram could only score a single ace. Pospisil’s 64% first serve winning ratio again put him in the lead in the third set but Ram was doing
his best to narrow down the lead. Pospisil’s service games made all the difference in the third set as Ram won only three games. Ram’s momentum was crushed Pospisil swiftly cruised ahead and won the third set 6-3. The Canadian won the match and entered the
next round of the competition.
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