Thiemo De Bakker defeats Martin Fischer in opening clash – ATP ORBETELLO Challenger 2011
Dutch tennis pro Thiemo De Bakker earned a hard fought 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Austrian Martin Fischer on Tuesday to book a second round berth at the 2011 ATP ORBETELLO Challenger Series in Orbetello, Italy.
De Bakker showed astonishing determination and fighting skills to come back from a set down in the match. Despite losing the opener in first half an hour, the Dutch continued to play his natural game freely. With little bit of luck on his side, he converted
most of the break opportunities in the last two sets to seal victory in a match that lasted for more than two hours and seven minutes on the red clay courts of Orbetello.
Ranked 193rd in the Association of Tennis Professionals rankings, Martin made a bright start to the match. He executed his big forehand and backhand winners to perfection and soon took a very healthy 4-2 lead in the
opening set. Breaking the serve at regular intervals, he dented his opponent confidence levels. Having no problems on his service games what so ever, he bagged the set to go 1-0 up in the set score.
Looking to find a way back into the contest, De Bakker looked to make of the most of available opportunities in the following set. After the contestants exchanged several serve breaks, the set entered a very exciting phase with
the game score levelled at 3-3. The 22-year-old De Bakker had his third break chance of the set at 4-3. Converting it with a powerful serve return, he took a vital 5-3 lead, serving for the set. He secured his next service game with three consecutive points
to shift the balance of the contest.
De Bakker, who is seeded second at the ATP tournament, continued to display some high quality tennis in the final set as well to establish complete control over the contest. He broke the serve twice in the set and despite some
fierce resistance put up by the challenger; he was able to accomplish his goals as he completed an emphatic victory to enter the next round of the competition.
Ranked 104th in the world, De Bakker showed amazing temperament and clay court skills to outlast his opponent in several long rallies. He was also the braver of the two players as he came close to the net every now and
then to surprise the Austrian. Firing nine serve aces in the match, he was able to find his way out of the trouble with his blistering serves. However, he must work hard on his defensive game play if he wants to make it all the way to the final stages of the
tournament.
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