Simon Greul ousts Nicolas Devilder in opening round – TEAN International 2012 Ch
German contender, Simon Greul, downed the French challenger, Nicolas Devilder, in straight sets at the TEAN International 2012, an ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event held in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands. He clobbered a 6-4,
6-3 victory against the left-hander from France to secure a place in the second round on Tuesday.
The 31-year-old brought his experience into handy after tumbling the world number 196 in their first battle against each other. After pulling out the victory in almost an hour, Greul convincingly progressed into the round of 16 at this outdoor clay court
event.
Greul powerfully entered into the Dutch clay courts. He got the critical break in the fifth game and jumped to a 3-2 lead. Regardless of levelling the scores in the very next game, the German broke his rival’s serve again and clinched the opener with a 6-4
score line. He amazingly brushed off two out of three breakpoints he faced and converted half of the four break opportunities to his advantage.
Ranked 238th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Greul maintained consistency in his game in the following set. He got the critical break in the third game and leaped to a 3-1 lead. The German held his remaining serves until
he broke Devilder’s serve again and clicked the set with a 6-3 win. He amazingly blocked both breakpoints he faced and capitalised on two out of six break opportunities to seal the deal.
The German veteran clobbered a lower first serve share of 59 per cent in contrast with his opponent’s 67 per cent but impressively marked 26 out of 32 points on it. He spilled more double faults but smashed five aces to cover it up.
Up next for Greul is the winner of the match between third seed Ruben Bemelmans and the lucky loser, Moritz Baumann.
The Belgian contender, Yannick Mertens, will accompany Greul in the following round. He devastated Bastian Knittel with a bagel in one hour and 16 minutes. Mertens lost his serve once but capitalised on five out of 17 break chances to earn the glory.
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