Robert Farah battles past Bastian Knittel; qualifies for the main draw of the BMW Open
World number 179 Robert Farah of Colombia came back from one set down to defeat world number 201 Bastian Knittel of Germany in three sets 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the final round of the qualifying draw at the BMW Open in Munich on Monday.
The Colombian took just over two hours and five minutes to beat his opponent in a close contest.
Farah took the lead straight away as he broke Knittel in the opening game of the first set to go up 1-0. However, Knittel broke back immediately to level the score at 1-1. Serving to stay in the set at 4-5, Farah failed to hold
his serve and lost the first set 4-6.
Farah hit a single ace and two double faults in the opening set. The Colombian did not serve quite well as he fired just 62 percent of the first serves and won 69 percent of the points on them. In comparison, Knittel delivered
80 percent of the first serves in the opening set, winning 65 percent of the points on them. The German converted two of the three break points he received in the first set.
Farah fought back in the second set, breaking his opponent in the fifth and seventh game to capture the set 6-2. The Colombian hit a couple of aces and 89 percent of the first serves in the second set. Farah amazingly converted
100 percent of his first serves into points, winning the point on all of his 16 first serves in the second set. On the other hand, Knittel’s first serve percentage dropped as compared to the opening set as the German delivered 58 percent of the first serves
and won 57 percent of the points on them. The 27-year-old capitalized on two of the six break point opportunities he created in the second set.
In the final set, Farah looked to seal the match quickly as he broke Knittel in the second game to take a 2-0 lead. But, Knittel broke back in the third game and held his serve in the next game to tie the score at 2-2. Farah broke
again in the eighth game and served out the set at 5-3.
The Colombian delivered three aces and 64 percent of the first serves in the third set. The 24-year-old converted 76 percent of the first serves into points. Farah managed to save eight of the nine break points he faced in the
deciding set. The right-handed won two of the six break-points in the final set.
Farah will play eighth seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany in the first round of the main draw.
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