Tim Puetz overcomes Grzegorz Panfil in the final qualifier – IPP Open 2012 CH
Ranked 489th in the world, Tim Puetz of Germany survived the loss of opening set to topple the world number 476 from Poland, Grzegorz Panfil, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(4) in the final round of the qualifying draw at the IPP Open
in Helsinki, Finland. The German national required two hours and 26 minutes to register this tough win.
Panfil made a perfect start to the contest, striking in the very first game and consolidating on it to move ahead 2-0. The Polish contender stung another break in the third and held his next serve to stretch his lead to 4-0. Puetz
opened his account by winning the fifth game and grabbed three successive games later on to reduce the trail to 4-5. The German could not get the second break back, losing it 4-6.
The Polish participant fired two aces and 69 percent of the first deliveries, claiming 14 of the 22 points on them. The 6ft tall lost seven of the nine points on the first returns but balanced that by securing 10 of the 18 on the
second ones in the opener.
Panfil and Puetz could not break each other in the first 11 games of the second set, taking the score to 6-5 in favour of the latter. Serving to stay in contention at that moment, Panfil could not hold and threw it away 5-7.
Puetz took his serve to next level in the second set, as he banged in seven huge aces and captured 15 of the 18 points on the first deliveries. None of the two players made any double fault but Panfils’s second serve conversion
rate was not as good as his rival. The German contestant saved the only break point he faced and converted one of the three he received.
Panfil drew the first blood in the decider, breaking Puetz in the third game and winning his following serve to build a 3-1 lead. However, the German player fought back and took it to a tie-breaker, where he took an early advantage
and capitalised on it to win 7-6(4).
Puetz will lock horns with the eighth seed, Jan Hajek, in the first round of the main draw.
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