Ruben Bemelmans stuns Frederico Gil to reach the main draw – BNP Paribas Open 2012
A stunning outcome was witnessed in the qualifying competition of the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday when the top seed Portuguese competitor, Frederico Gil, was plodded by the 24th seed Belgian opponent, Ruben Bemelmans.
The contest took two hours and five minutes to conclude, with the 24-year-old Belgian winning in three sets, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, to book a place in the main rounds of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, California.
Rated at number 86 in the world rankings, Gil was anticipated to win the contest against the inferior-ranked opponent but it went the other way round. The top seeded qualifier was outplayed in the very first set of the match but
he made a tremendous recovery in the next set to make his way right back in business. Tide was turned once again in the final set, with Bemelmans manhandling the Portuguese opponent to register his surprise victory in a convincing fashion.
Looking at the match statistics, it appears to be a very close contest between the two men. However, Bemelmans was clearly the dominating figure throughout the matchup. He delivered 62 per cent of his serve on target and secured
36 out of 63 first serve points en route to victory. The Belgian registered four out of eight break points, while his top seed opponent evenly matched him with four out of 13 serve breaks in the matchup.
The match was evenly poised with both competitors having a set under their belt but it was the Belgian underdog who showed his skills in the final moments of the match to claim victory. Scores were levelled at 4-4 when he nailed
an all-important break point to seal his stunning victory in style.
Bemelmans will play his first match of the main draw against the Aussie qualifier, Marinko Matosevic. The Australian was seeded at number 16 in the qualifying draw and registered an assertive 6-2, 6-2, victory over Michael Yani
of the United States to meet Bemelmans in the first round of BNP Paribas Open. The winner of the two main draw qualifiers will face off against the word number nine, Juan Martin Del Potro, who got a bye to the second round of the tournament.
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