Roberto Bautista-Agut surprises Kenny de Schepper in the qualifying rounds – Sud de France Open 2012
A surprising outcome was witnessed in the qualifying draw of Sud de France Open, as the second seed Frenchman, Kenny de Schepper, bowed out to the unseeded Spaniard, Roberto Bautista-Agut, on Sunday. The 165th ranked
Spaniard closed out the contest in three sets, with 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-6(5), score line to move one step closer to the main draw of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 event.
The contest was played on the indoor hard courts of the Arena Montpellier, in Montpellier, France, with the second seed local competitor suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of the visitor. Schepper hung in the contest for
two hours and 38 minutes before he eventually succumbed in the third set tie-breaker. Although the Frenchman shattered the local hopes, the crowd present at the arena appreciated the brilliant efforts of Schepper with a huge round of applause at the end of
the game.
It was an evenly poised contest throughout and both men threw the best they have at each other. All of the three sets ended with nail-biting finishes, with the last two sets being settled through a tie breaker rounds. Schepper
suffered early blow in the competition by dropping the opening set but recovered very well to make a strong comeback in the very next set. His efforts were tarnished by Bautista-Agut in the final set, as the Spaniard edged past him in the ultimate decider
to register his surprise victory.
The French fired 13 aces and secured 61 out of 83 first serve points in the match, yet finishing on the losing side. The Spanish winner pocketed 53 out of 76 points on his first serve but nailed three serve breaks on the crucial
moments of the match to come out as the winner. The second seed contestant went neck-to-neck in all segments of the game and gave some real tough time to Bautista-Agut before submitting in the last set.
A steady start in the opening set took the scores to 5-5 without any break points being registered from the two competitors. Bautista-Agut finally made his move in the 11th game and broke the Spanish serve for the first
time to lead 6-5. He comprehensively served out of the first serve at 7-5 to get one up but couldn’t repeat the heroics in the next set tie-breaker round, eventually losing it 6-7(5).
The final set was a complete replication of the second set, except it was Bautista-Agut who closed out the tie-breaker at 7-6(5) to be declared the winner.
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