Ruben Bemelmans cripples Lukas Dlouhy in qualifiers – BB&T Atlanta Open 2012
Qualifying top seed, Ruben Bemelmans, devastated the Czech contestant, Lukas Dlouhy, with a breadstick at the BB&T Atlanta Open 2012 on Sunday. He clobbered a 6-1, 7-5 victory against the world number 1522 to secure a place in the final round of the qualifying
competition at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event taking place in Johns Creek, Georgia.
The Belgian contender displayed brilliant tennis skills to outsmart Dlouhy in under an hour at this outdoor hard court event. Battling each other for the first time, Bemelmans assertively powered into the final qualifying round.
Bemelmans high-spiritedly entered the Atlantic Station and plucked his opening serve with self-assurance. After Dlouhy kept his serve in the second game, the Belgian unleashed flurry of groundstrokes and wiped out the following five games in a row, eventually
pulling out the opener with a breadstick.
Ranked 125th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Bemelmans kept momentum floating into the following set and swiped his opening serve to level the scores at 1-1. He continued hitting powerful groundstrokes and held his remaining
serves with conviction. The Belgian got the breakthrough in the 11th game and clicked the set by winning seven games to five.
All in all, Bemelmans fired eight aces and clobbered a lower first serve share of 60 per cent as opposed to his opponent’s 63 per cent and spectacularly availed 26 out of 28 points on it. He also fully capitalised on seven double faults the Czech spilled
and was never threatened with any breakpoint.
Next in line for the Belgian is eighth seeded Ricardo Hocevar who tumbled France’s Olivier Charroin in straight sets to set up this meeting.
The third seed, Sergei Bubka, also earned the limelight later that day. He recorded a 6-4, 7-6(6) success in one hour and 32 minutes against the Romanian challenger, Catalin-Ionut Gard. The Ukrainian failed to block all four breakpoints he faced but cashed
in five out of nine break chances, subsequently sealing the deal in their first meeting. He also committed fewer double faults and smashed two aces to earn the spotlight.
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