Robin Haase battles past Joao Souza into the final – Bet-At-Home Cup 2011
World number 53 Robin Haase of the Netherlands continued his golden run and reached his maiden ATP World Tour final as he defeated qualifier Joao Souza of Brazil in three sets 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-4 in the semi-finals at the Bet-At-Home
Cup in Kitzbuhel on Friday. The Dutch took two hours and nine minutes to overcome his opponent in a tough encounter.
Haase outplayed his opponent in the opening set as he broke the Brazilian in the first and third game, holding both of his own service games to race to a 4-0 lead. Souza avoided a bagel set as he finally held his serve in the fifth
game to reduce the trail to 1-4. Haase claimed two more successive games after that, breaking the Brazilian in the seventh game to win the set 6-1.
The Dutch hit a couple of aces but he had an erratic first serve as he managed to deliver a meagre 38 percent of the first serves in the opening set. However, the 24-year-old did not lose even a single point on the first serve,
clinching all five of them. He dominated in all departments of the game, clinching seven of the eight second service points and seven of the twelve first return points in the first set.
Unlike the opening set, the second set saw a stiff competition as Haase and the Brazilian held their serve in the first eight games to square off the score at 4-4. Souza made the breakthrough as he won Haase’s next service game
but he could not consolidate on it as he failed to hold his own serve in the tenth game, equalling the score at 5-5. The set was forced into a tie-break, where Souza sealed a couple of late mini-breaks to win it 7-3.
The Brazilian kept his first serve percentage at 68 percent and hit three aces in the second set. The right-handed capitalised on one of the two break point opportunities he created on the Dutchman’s serve in the second set.
Haase made a strong start in the final set. The Dutch broke Souza in the opening game and consolidated on it to go ahead 2-0. The Hague resident maintained his lead throughout the set and bagged it 6-4.
The six feet and three inches tall served brilliantly as he smashed eight aces and clinched 88 percent of the first service points in the deciding set.
Haase will take on world number 50 Albert Montanes of Spain in the final. The Spaniard beat top seed Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina in straight sets 6-2, 7-5 in the semi-final.
Tags: