Rajeev Ram rallies past Carsten Ball in round two – Tallahassee Tennis Challenger 2012
Local rising star, Rajeev Ram, got the better of Australia’s Carsten Ball in a three set nail-biter at the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger 2012 on Wednesday. He manipulated a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory against the Aussie to secure a place in the final eight at
this hard court event held in Tallahassee, Florida.
Ram struck 10 vicious aces to outsmart the world number 302 in two hours in their fourth meeting. The contestants previously faced each other at the qualifying competition of the US Open last year and after earning this success, Ram maintained his winning
record.
Ranked 137th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Ram confidently entered the Forestmeadows Tennis Complex and after breaking Ball’s serve twice, he jumped to a 5-2 lead. In spite of losing his serve in the eighth game, Ram held
his composure and after keeping his serve once more, he bagged the opener with a 6-4 win.
The 24-year-old re-focused in the following set and after cashing in the lone break opportunity in the second game, he went to a 3-0 lead. Ball then maintained consistency in his game and plucked remaining serves to equalise the set scores.
The final set was a lopsided affair where the higher ranked contestant ruled the set. He unleashed his skills to stroke out the opening five games in a row before Ball could hold on. The American then kept his serve once more and pulled out the decider with
a breadstick.
All in all, Ram summed up an almost equal first serve share of 61 per cent but brilliantly clinched 40 out of 51 points on it. He sought 12 break opportunities and spiced the set further by clicking a total of 94 points.
The American will next confront the second seed, Ryan Sweeting, who trashed his compatriot, Vahid Mirzadeh, in straight sets to set-up this battle. Sweeting lost his serve once but amazingly converted four out of 13 break opportunities to his advantage,
subsequently registering a 6-4, 6-3 score line in one hour and 17 minutes. He committed fewer errors and dominated throughout the match to earn the glory.
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