Roberto Bautista-Agut takes down Maxime Teixeira in the opening round of the Tennis Napoli Cup
23-year-old Spaniard, Roberto Bautista-Agut beat the Frenchman, Maxime Teixeira in a hard-fought encounter of the opening round of the Tennis Napoli Cup at Naples, Italy on Monday noon. He laboured for two hours and fifty one minutes
before securing the three-set victory at 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3, to advance to the next stage of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour tournament.
The Spanish had a brilliant start to the contest by bagging the opener in the tie breaker round but dropped the following set to fritter away the early advantage. Agut then made an excellent comeback in the third set to wipe out
the Frenchman to register victory and move on to the second round at Naples. Apart from the stumbles he had in the second set, Agut’s overall performance in the competition was quite impressive.
The French had his chances in the game but squandered them away ending the match on a losing note. He had 11 opportunities to break his opponent’s serve but he converted just three of those. Seven double faults were reported on
Teixeira’s part, a mistake which cost him match. The French gathered his pace in to win the second set of the match but lost his steam in the final set to lose the contest and make his way out of the Challenger Tour event.
Intense tennis play was witnessed in the opening set of the match, with both men trying to exert pressure upon their opponent by their attacking moves. Exchange of elegant cross-court winners was seen from both sides, keeping the
score board ticking on equal terms. None of the players registered a serve break and eventually a tie breaker round was called at 6-6. The Spaniard held his nerve in the intense pressure situation and succeeded in winning the decider to bag the first set at
7-6(5).
Tide turned in the next set as Teixeira came out firing at the Spanish competitor. He served with an amazing 83 per cent precision and stung three serve breaks out of his 10 opportunities in the second set. The Spaniard retaliated
with two break points but couldn’t restrict his opponent, who raced away to 6-4 to clinch the second set and levelled the contest with one set a piece.
Teixeira’s momentum finally came to a halt when Agut belted a serve break in the fifth game of the decisive set. He then kept playing calculating strokes, without taking unnecessary risks and concluded the matchup at 6-3 to step
further in the tournament. Agut has to wait to know his second round opponent until the clash between the Serb, Ilija Bozoljac and the fifth seed Ivo Minar of Czech Republic is settled on Tuesday. The winner of the two will take on Agut in the next stage of
the Tennis Napoli Cup.
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