Tim Smyczek prevails over Jack Sock in the final round – Champaign Challenger 2012 CH
Sixth seeded, Tim Smyczek, battled through the final round of the JSM Challenger of the Champaign held at the hard courts of Laykold, United States.
He consolidated his win against his compatriot, Jack Sock by penning down his win, 2-6, 7-6, 7-5 after a breathtaking three setter match. The two contenders finished the match in 2 hours and 26 minutes on Saturday.
Previously, the local duo encountered each other at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championship at their home ground. Smyczek collected his straight set win 7-6, 6-2 at the start of 2012.
The 165th ranked player displayed a remarkable start in the opener and retained his serve without facing any real challenge. He pocketed away the initial three games, marking a 3-love lead and cashed on his rival’s serve in the second game. The American
senior did put forward a good show and Sock nudged forward, pulling out of the set with a 6-2 lead.
The 24-year-old, Smyczek gradually constructed momentum and dissolved his challenger’s serve in the third game. The American right-hander, Sock, gradually constructed his momentum and squared the score line to 4-all in the eighth game. The two challengers
made the game difficult for each other, as the score line started to level down till the score line was brought to 6-all. However, Smyczek sustained his pace and jumped up to close the equalizer with a 7-6(1) lead.
In the decider, the two contestants displayed an outstanding game for their fans, squaring down the scoreboard after every game. They swiped their serves, holding their serve throughout the match. The seventh seeded challenger struggled hard to avenge his
former loss, but his passion started to die down towards the end. The 5 ft 9”, Smyczek, took a flying start towards the end and grabbed the last two games, immerging out of the final set with a 7-5 win.
The 20-year-old, Sock, thundered onto his challenger with six aces with an average initial serve of 52 percent. He snatched 42 of 57 first and 26 of 52 second serve points. On the other hand, his contestant had 70 percent initial serve precision with 51
of 69 points.
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