Rik de Voest outguns Rhyne Williams in the first round – Sacramento Challenger 2012 CH
World number 189, Rik de Voest, prevailed over the local challenger, Rhyne Williams, in the first round of the RelyAid Natomas Challenger 2012 held at the hard courts of California, United States. The South African native summed
his 5-7, 7-6, 6-4 win after a continuous battle for three hours and 13 minutes on Tuesday.
Previously, the American junior dominated Voest in the first round of the Winnetka Challenger. He took maximum advantage of his home ground and gave the Protease a remarkable defeat in the first round but to Williams’ surprise,
he retired in the second set, giving him 6-1, 3-1 triumph.
The veteran displayed an average start in Tuesday's matchup, as he was unable to sustain his initial serve; Williams took the opportunity and clinched the initial two games to stamp a 2-love lead. He continuously sustained the
upper hand but the score line squared down to 5-all subsequently. The American professional carried on with his impetus and stamped a 7-5 lead.
The 32-year-old, Voest, inverted the winning order in the second set. Despite of his experience, he picked a slower start as compared to the opener. Williams broke his rival’s initial serve and secured the initial two games, marking
his 2-0 lead. Like before, the American dominated the major portion of the set but Voest did not lose any hope. Surprisingly, he emerged to front line with a 7-6(3) score, after an average tiebreaker.
The 21-year-old American commenced a classic start in the decider and consolidated his 3-0 lead by the end of the third game. Nonetheless, the right-hander veteran broke Williams' serve in the seventh game and levelled the score
to 4-all in the very next game. After that point, he did not give his rival a single opportunity and terminated the match with a 6-4 win.
The right-hander local challenger fired only five aces and committed double faults three times. He converted 52 of 83 first and 24 of 52 second delivery points. Voest bombarded nine aces onto his competitor and double faulted four
times. Although he had 55 percent initial serve precision, he secured 45 of 60 points.
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