Steve Darcis defeats Ivo Klec in the first round of the Tennis Napoli Cup
Sixth seed Steve Darcis of Belgium proved his brilliant tennis skills in the stiff encounter against Ivo Klec of Slovakia in the opening round of the Tennis Napoli Cup at Naples, Italy on Monday. The Belgian concluded his thrilling
straight sets victory at 6-4, 7-6(7), in one hour and forty five minutes to step into the next stage of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event.
The evenly poised contest exhibited some quality tennis from the two contestants, who toiled by the same token to get the better of one another. They served equally well in the contest but Klec tended to lose focus at some points,
slopping five double faults in the game. Nevertheless, the Slovak hung in the game till the end, before he was defeated in the second set tie breaker to get ejected from the tournament.
Both men had their opportunities in the game but Darcis cashed in most of his to edge past his opponent. He crafted 10 break chances in the matchup and converted five of them, while the Slovak bagged four out of eight break points
to remain competitive in the game. A total of 158 points were played in the game, with Darcis winning 84 and his opponent clinching 74 of them.
There wasn’t much difference in the serve statistics of the two men in the opening round as they both had an aggressive start to the game. Darcis was the first one to break the opponent’s serve in the third game of the opener and
lead 2-1. Klec was up to the task and stung two straight break points to step into lead at 4-2. The resilient Belgian back fired at Klec and amazingly reeled off the next four games, breaking the Slovak serve twice, to bag the first set of the matchup at 6-4.
The intensity rose to much higher levels in the following set, as a nail biting finish was witnessed. Klec coughed three double faults in the second set but kept winning crucial points on regularity to keep the score board ticking
on even terms. He broke Darcis twice and dropped his serve two times before the score reached 6-6, imposing a decisive tie breaker.
Excitement of the local crowd rose to a maximum as Klec threw his everything at his opponent to remain alive in the contest. The decider was extended to a total of 16 points before Darcis delivered the final blow to secure an emphatic
victory at Naples. His next round opponent will be the winner of clash between the two Romanians, Adrian Ungur and Victor Crivoi.
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