Stephane Robert edges past Ivan Navarro into the quarterfinals – BNP Paribas Polish Open 2011 CH
World number 107 Stephane Robert of France came back after losing the first set to overcome world number 190 Ivan Navarro in three sets 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 in the first round at the BNP Paribas Polish Open in Sopot, Poland on Wednesday.
It took the third seed two hours and 51 minutes to beat his opponent in a marathon encounter.
Navarro came roaring into the match, breaking the French in the second game of the first set to take a 2-0 lead. However, Robert broke back immediately and held his next service game to square off the score at 2-2. The 29-year-old
broke again in the sixth game and consolidated on it to capture the set 6-3.
The six feet tall hit one ace and 52 percent of the first deliveries, clinching 73 percent of the points on them. In comparison, Robert delivered the same percentage of first serves but he failed to fire any ace. Navarro clinched
two of the six break points he received on Robert’s serve and saved four of the five break points he faced on his own serve in the first set.
In the second set, Navarro and Robert exchanged one break of serve to tie the score at 6-6 and take the set to a tie-break. Robert raised the level of his game in the tie-break, clinching three mini-breaks to win it 7-2.
The French fired 70 percent of the first serves and two aces in the second set. The Montargis resident sealed 78 percent of the first service points and 32 percent of the first return points in the second set. The 31-year-old converted
one of the three break points on Navarro’s serve and saved one of the two break points he faced in the second set.
With winning momentum on his side, Robert took an early lead in the third set. The French broke Navarro in the first game and consolidated on it to grab a 2-0 lead. The right-handed maintained his lead throughout the set, bagging
it 6-4.
Robert kept his first serve percentage at 53 percent and fired three aces in the deciding set. The French won twelve of the seventeen first service points and nine of the fifteen second service points in the final set. The 31-year-old
capitalised on one of the two break point opportunities he created on the Spaniard’s serve in the third set.
The French is slated to take on world number 112, compatriot Marc Gicquel in the last eight. The sixth seed beat Daniel Munoz-De La Nava of Spain in three sets 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in the second round.
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