Ruben Bemelmans overwhelms Vasek Pospisil in the quarter-finals – Heilbronn Open 2012 CH
Belgian qualifier, Ruben Bemelmans, registered a straight sets victory over the Canadian competitor, Vasek Pospisil, in the quarter-final round of the Heilbronn Open on Friday. The 150th ranked Bemelmans took one hour
and 33 minutes to wrap up victory at 7-6(1), 6-3, to march into the semi-final round of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event.
The 24-year-old Belgian played far better tennis than his rankings depict and outsmarted Pospisil in most segments of the game to come out as the winner. Only one serve break was registered in the entire matchup and it can from
the racquet of Bemelmans in the second set. The Canadian competitor has been in outstanding form in the initial rounds of the tournament but failed to crack a single break point in the Friday’s matchup to suffer a heavy defeat at the hands of the German.
Pospisil secured 32 out of 41 first serve points in the contest and was equally good on his return game, yet finishing on the losing side in the end. No serve beaks were seen in the opener, with the Canadian holding on to his serve
throughout the set to impose a tie-breaker round. He crumbled in the decider and a break point conversion from Bemelmans in the following set did the rest for him.
A close battle was witnessed in the opening set, with both contestants throwing out their best at each other to gain some early advantage in the match. Bemelmans had two break opportunities in the set but it was the cunning game
play of the 21-year-old Canadian which denied him on both occasions. Once the scores got dead-locked at 6-6, a tie-breaker round came into play. Pospisil literally lost his entire stream in the decider and could pocket just one point to let the Belgian take
the first set at 7-6(1).
The dejected Canadian held his serve in the opening two games of the following set before Bemelmans crafted another break chance in the match. The Belgian qualifier finally registered a serve break in the sixth game to lead 4-2
and held his lead until the conclusion of the match at 6-3.
The Belgian will take on the second seed home favourite, Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, in the semi-final round of the tournament on Saturday. Stebe registered a comprehensive victory over his sixth seed fellow compatriot, Michael Berrer,
6-1, 6-4, in the round of eight to earn a spot in the semis.
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