Simone Bolelli outlasts Stephane Robert to reach second round – AON Open Challenger 2012 CH
Fifth seed, Simone Bolelli, rallied past the French veteran, Stephane Robert, in a three-set thriller at the AON Open Challenger 2012 on Tuesday. He nudged up a 7-6(3), 3-6, 7-5 victory against the world number 260 to book a spot in the second round at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event held in Genoa, Italy.
The local seed remained focused throughout the event to overpower Robert in their second meeting. They previously battled each other at the Barcelona Challenger and after earning this success, Bolelli maintained his winning record and advanced into the round of 16 on ninth edition of this event.
Bolelli made a drastic entry at this outdoor clay court event. He suffered the first blow in the opening game and fell at 0-1. However, he not only recovered in the eighth game but stayed calm to keep his remaining serves. The Italian edged past Robert in the tie-breaker and eventually bagged the opener with a 7-6(3) win.
The 32-year-old re-focused in the following set and got in contention. He swiped his entire serves without facing any barrier and cashed the lone break opportunity in the eighth game to seal the equaliser by winning six games to three.
Ranked 84th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Bolelli got back in action in the final set. He got the critical break in the second game and jumped to a 3-0 lead before Robert could hold on. Regardless of losing his edge in the fifth game, the Italian star clinched the decider with a 7-5 score line after capitalising on another break chance.
Next up for local rising star is the winner of the match between Slovakia’s Pavol Cervenak and the local qualifier, Alberto Brizzi.
The seventh seed, Albert Montanes, will join the Italian in the proceeding round. He spilled more double faults but smashed seven aces to outsmart the local challenger, Enrico Burzi. The Spaniard lost his serve three times but cashed in six out of nine break opportunities to sum up a 6-7(1), 6-1, 6-4 score line in two hours and four minutes.
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