Stephane Robert hammers Laurent Rochette in first round – Orleans Challenger 2011
Two French powerhouses, Laurent Rochette and Stephane Robert, went head-to-head in the first round of the Orleans Challenger Tournament, hosted in France, on Tuesday October 18th. The qualifier, Rochette, was dispatched
all over the place by the sixth seeded, Robert, in their first meeting. The game was totally one-sided and ended up in an hour and sixteen minutes with a final score of 6-3 and 6-2.
Disappointing dismal form from both players made it extremely important for both of them to make their mark in the tournament and gain some confidence by winning this encounter. Just four victories for Rochette and five for his
counterpart from their last ten encounters prove their poor run of form in the recent past. However, provided the superior ranking and more fan following made the sixth seeded, Robert, hot favourite for the match.
Crowd favourite, Robert, didn’t disappoint the crowd and showed his prolific game play. He smashed three aces and registered a thumping 75% and 71% first and second serve points win rate respectively. It was game of power shots.
He broke his opponent once which was good enough to put aside the first set and give him the lead.
23-year-old qualifier also smashed two aces but he was not impressive with his control over serves and shots. He lost bulk of his points through unforced errors and poor placement of shots. He managed to create one break point
opportunity but couldn’t capitalize on that and was unsuccessful in winning a single break point.
The results of the second set would have been totally different if Rochette capitalized on his break points opportunities. He only won one out of four possible break points which is a very disappointing conversion rate. Two stunning
aces are the only positive that Rochette can take from that set.
The domination from Robert’s side continued and he clinched three break point opportunities and struck three cunning aces which rounded off the set in his favour. He registered a rousing 83% first serve points winning rate and
followed it up with a decent 50% second serve points winning rate. His second serve returns was classy which helped him win 71% points on second serve return shots.
French qualifier couldn’t capitalize on his serves and won just 53% points on his first serve and was even more disappointing with his second serve; winning just 29% points. It seemed like younger player surrendered at the hands
of an experienced player.
Sixth seeded Robert advances into the second set by clinching 60% of the total points and thumping six aces. He will now lock horns with the lucky loser, Adrian Menendez-Maceiras, of Spain. It is expected to be a complete mismatch
but considering the stunning upset from the Spanish in his last match, any outcome can be expected.
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