Victor Baluda rallies past I-Ta Chen into the final qualifier – OEC Kaohsiung 2012 CH
Fourth seed, Victor Baluda of Russia, survived the scare in the second set to outlast world number 1796, I-Ta Chen of Chinese Taipei, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in the second round of the qualifying draw at the OEC Kaohsiung Challenger event
in Taiwan on Sunday.
Baluda did not take much time to move ahead, breaking Chen in the opening game of the first set and holding his next serve to attain a 2-0 advantage. The Russian further stretched his lead by striking in the seventh game and consolidated
on it to triumph 6-2.
Ranked 396th in the world, Baluda banged in one ace and 68 percent of the first serves, pocketing 13 of the 19 points on them in the opening set. The Russian looked almost flawless on his second returns, converting 10
of the 12 of them into points.
Chen made a better start in the second set, as he did not lose his serve. Both players held in the first nine games to take the score to 5-4 in favour of the Taiwanese. Chen succeeded in securing the only break, as he struck in
the 10th game and grabbed it 6-4.
The Taiwanese smacked three aces and a couple of double faults in the second set. The 21-year-old had an impressive conversion rate on his serve, as he claimed 12 of the 14 points on the first and eight of the 11 on the second
deliveries.
The proceedings in the third set were almost the same as the opener, as Baluda snatched a break in the first game and consolidated on it to move ahead 2-0. The Russian hit another blow in the seventh and served it out at 5-2.
Baluda put in 76 percent of the first serves, clinching 17 of the 22 points on them in the decider. The 19-year-old saved both break points he faced and converted two of the four he received. He required an hour and 50 minutes
to beat Chen in a close battle.
The Russian will play either Bumpei Sato of Japan or French, Clement Reix, in the final round of the qualifying draw.
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