Rui Machado battles past Wayne Odesnik into last eight – BVA Open 2011 CH
Portuguese Rui Machado, squared-off against the American, Wayne Odesnik, in the second round of the BVA Open Challenger event, contested in Brazil, on Wednesday October 26th. Both contenders were facing each other for
the first time and it was a pleasant match that lasted for two hours nineteen minutes. Finally it was the top seed Machado who came on top and sealed the next round spot with a score of 6-4, 4-6, 6-0.
American had lost four of his last nine encounters and was going through a shaky time and finding it hard to find firm footing on the court. It was a golden opportunity for him to pull up a major upset by defeating the top seed
but his luck and timing was out in the third set.
Lisbon resident, top seeded, Machado, had relatively maintained a good percentage of wins and was in supreme touch. He started the match as the hot favourite and finished it in style with a clean sweep in the last set.
The first set was dominated by the top seed who registered an enthralling first and second serve success rate of 88% and 86% respectively. He converted the most crucial breakpoint to his favour in the ninth game of the set when
everything was squared-off at four games apiece.
Florida resident, Odesnik, tried his best but his finishing was poor and couldn’t handle the pressure game and failed to save the most crucial breakpoint of the set which was the turning point in the set. He did well to clinch
24 points in the set but fell short of the requirement and lost the set with a difference of ten points.
Strong comeback in the second set from the World No.136 was a treat to watch. He struck two aces and broke twice on critical stages to dismantle his opponent and sustain the lead of two sets that was carried till the end of the
set. Massive first serve success rate of 83% along with some scintillating drop shots and perfectly placed backhands brought him back into the match and opened up the game for all possible results.
Top seed did well to win 27 points but these were not good enough to seal him the place in the next round. He fell short of six points and lost the second set. Crowd loved every bit of it and wanted another close encounter in the
third set.
No aces were scored in the third set but sadly there was no luck for the American as well. He couldn’t adjust to the scenario and was unable to win a single game. An impressive first serve success rate of 58% and exciting second
serve success rate of 78% was one of the most fascinating stats for the top seed. He broke his opponent’s serve thrice and cruised past him in the third set by winning all the games.
Rui Machado squares-off against Argentine, Martin Alund in the third round of the tournament.
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