Rajeev Ram devastates Jean-Francois Berard in the opening round – Challenger of Granby 2011 CH
A blistering start to the tournament for the American, Rajeev Ram, who outclassed Jean-Francois Berard of Canada, in the opening round of the National Bank’s Challenger of Granby, on Monday.
The ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour tournament is staged at the hard-courts of Granby, Canada and the unseeded American exhibited his sheer dominance over the bleak Berard to clinch a straight sets victory
at 6-2, 6-1, taking less than an hour of play.
The contest finished off to the dismay of the crowd present at Granby, as local hopes crashed with the defeat of Berard in the matchup. The 36-year-old Canadian veteran appeared no match for the agile American, who quick moves
proved to be the only differentiating factor in the matchup, something Berard desperately lacked throughout the game. Berard hung in the contest for barely 45 minutes before he had to surrender against the fury of Ram, allowing the American to move into the
second round draws of the Challenger Tour event.
Ram took hold of the game from the very first minute of play, striking a serve break right up to lead 2-0. The American serve reached merely 52 per cent accuracy in the opener but Ram clinched 17 out of 23 total serve points in
the set. The sluggish Berard collected just 18 out of total 48 points being played in the first set, with the remaining 30 falling to the American’s name. After squandering a break opportunity earlier, Ram finally cracked in his second break point of the day
to seal the opening set at 6-2 to get a one-set lead in the contest.
The following set brought no luck for the Canadian, who sunk further in the game with his errant stroke play. Ram shifted his gears in the second set and uplifted his serve amazingly to 82 per cent, bagging all the 14 first serve
points he had in the set this time. The American kept pushing the Canadian veteran from the contest with his forceful winners down the line and he fully made use of the two break opportunities he had in the set. Ram rocketed away to victory in the 45thminute
of play, settling the final scores at 6-1 to book a place in the second round of the tournament.
Ram will take on the top seed from Israel, Dudi Sela, in the second round clash of the National Bank’s Challenger of Granby. Sela was successful against Mark Verryth of Australia in the opening round of the tournament.
Tags: