Thomas Schoorel triumphs over Boy Westerhof in round one – TEAN International 2012 CH
In an all-Dutch affair, Thomas Schoorel took down his compatriot, Boy Westerhof, in a three-set nail-biter at the TEAN International Tennis Tournament 2012 on Tuesday. He summed up a 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4 victory against the world number 201 to charge into the
second round at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event held in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands.
The left-handed Dutch showed his true colours to outrun Westerhof in two hours and 11 minutes at this clay court event. The players last met each other at the Netherlands Future event four years ago and after bagging this match, Schoorel avenged his loss
against his fellow citizen and advanced into the round of 16.
Schoorel made quick in-roads at these Dutch clay courts. He quickly pocketed his entire serves without facing any barrier. The lower ranked Dutch got the breakthrough in the ninth game after capitalising on one out of two break chances and clinched the opener
with a 6-4 score line.
The 26-year-old rebounded in the following set. He smoothly plucked his entire serves after brushing off the only breakpoint he came across. Despite failing to cash in any of his two break chances, Westerhof prevailed in the tie-breaker and eventually pulled
out the equaliser with a 7-6(5) win.
Ranked 241st in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Schoorel re-focused in the final set which counted the most. With his angled shots and amazing skills, the 23-year-old swiped his entire serves with conviction. He required a single
break opportunity in the last game and sealed the decider by winning six games to four.
All in all, the left-handed Dutch smashed 17 aces and spilled fewer double faults. He produced a better first serve share of 61 per cent as opposed to his rival’s 48 per cent and amazingly marked 47 out of 60 points on it.
Up next for Schoorel is the winner of the match between fourth seed Joao Sousa and the Czech Republic’s Marek Michalicka.
The Belgian contender, Yannick Mertens, will join the winning Dutch in the second round. He crushed the German challenger, Bastian Knittel, with a bagel to set up this meeting.
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