Ruben Bemelmans stuns Roberto Bautista-Agut in the semi-finals – Orleans Challenger 2012
World number 125th, Ruben Bemelmans, celebrated his win over the Spaniard, Roberto Bautista-Agut, in straight sets, 7-6(5), 6-3, shocking his rival in the semi-finals of the Orleans Challenger 2012,
France. He took a total of one hour and 47 minutes to stand tall on Saturday.
Previously, Bemelmans’ defeated the higher ranked Spaniard at the Italy F15 in the year 2008. After a tough battle between the two, the Belgian professional jolted down his 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(1) win.
The 24-year-old, Agut, commenced the opening set displaying his greater experience and drew the first blood. He confidently broke his rival’s serve in the fourth and the sixth game respectively. However, in the
ninth game the lower ranked Belgian uprooted Agut and dissolved his initial serve, squaring down the scores twice. The initial set finished with a 7-6(5) win, after a close tiebreaker round.
The right-handed Spanish manifested a comparatively higher initial serve precision of 72 percent, bagging away 20 of 34 first and seven of 13 second serve points. He Belgian opponent displayed 60 percent first
serve accuracy, with 17 of 25 first and six of 17 second delivery points. He could only capitalize on two of seven break points and Agut won two of four.
In the second set, the left-hander Belgian professional held his first serve and preserved his former lead. He dissolved his rival’s confidence in the fourth game and marked a 3-1 lead. As the set progressed
both participants provided each other with a strong defence and maintained their serves throughout. However, this time around the higher-ranked Spanish did not fight back, as he was unable to handle the pressure. Bemelmans nudged forward and stamped his 6-3
win.
World number 82, Agut, displayed an improved initial serve accuracy of 73 percent, converting 11 of 19 of first and four of seven second delivery points. His challenger fired three aces and had a 56 percent first
serve presentation, with 13 of 15 first and eight of 12 second serve points. He even clamped a single break point presented to him.
For the final match the Belgian professional will battle against his compatriot, David Goffin.
Tags: