Steve Darcis battles past Richard Berankis to reach the semis – Dallas Challenger 2012 CH
Second seed, Steve Darcis, needed three sets to triumph over the Lithuanian challenger, Richard Berankis, at the Dallas Challenger 2012 on Thursday. He manipulated a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 victory over the 21-year-old Lithuanian to advance into the semi-finals at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event held in Dallas, United States.
The Belgian veteran stepped off gas in the second set but stayed focused in the remaining match to overpower Berankis in one hour and 43-minutes. Facing each other for the first time, Darcis lost her serve three times but broke his opponent’s serve four times to book a spot in the final four.
The 27-year-old confidently entered the American hard courts and kept his serve in the second game to square the scores at 1-1. He held his composure and plucked in remaining serves after saving both breakpoints he encountered. Darcis drew the first blood in the ninth game and eventually bagged the opener with a 6-4 win.
World number 153, Berankis carried his losing ways in the following set and suffered the first blow in the opening game. After Darcis held his serve in the second game, the Lithuanian unleashed flurry of powerful groundstrokes and wiped out the next six games in a row. He manifested a better first serve share of 63 percent as compared to the Belgian’s 36 percent and capitalised on three out of five break chances.
82nd ranked in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Darcis sought the winning track again in the final set. He earned the coveted break in the third game and then held his serve to prevail against the eighth seeded Lithuanian. The Belgian then cashed in another break opportunity in the last game and won the decider with a 6-3 score line.
Next up for the Darcis is the sixth seed, Izak Van Der Merwe, who crushed the French qualifier, Clement Reix, in straight sets to set-up this meeting. The South African rising star brushed off the only breakpoint he came across and broke Reix serve three times to seal the deal with a 6-4, 6-3 score line in almost an hour.
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