Weerapat Doakmaiklee executes Hao Gong to advance in the qualifiers – Wuhai Challenger 2011
Thai Weerapat Doakmaiklee swat past Chinese wild card entrant, Hao Gong with double breadsticks at the Wuhai Challenger 2011, first edition of the hard court tournament taking place in Wuhai, China. He barely broke sweat to register
a 6-1, 6-1 score line and advanced into the second round of the qualifiers on Saturday.
Ranked 1016th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour rankings, Doakmaiklee flashed past the wild card enterer after winning eleven straight games. He eventually sealed the deal in straight sets in forty-one minutes
on their first meeting. The Thai not only secured a spot in the second round of the qualifiers but also took lead in the head-to-head series by 1-0 against Gong.
The Chinese confidently entered the court in front of his home crowd and easily bagged in his opening serve in the first game. However, he stepped off gas in the remaining match.
Doakmaiklee on the other hand went berserk after the first game. He bombarded powerful groundstrokes from his arsenal of skills to make a reel off eleven straight games. The Thai earned the first breadstick in twenty minutes through
his impressive tact. He clobbered a higher first serve share of 83 percent as compared to Chinese’s 62 percent and registered a fabulous 73 percent win on it. In addition to this, Doakmaiklee saved the only breakpoint faced and capitalised on three out of
five breakpoint opportunities to his advantage.
24-year-old Thai stormed his way into the final set and kept on fishing out easy points to win first five games in a row before Gong could hold on. Doakmaiklee then held his serve in the seventh game to earn the second breadstick
in another twenty minutes. Regardless of committing more double faults, he faced zero breakpoint and converted two out of three breakpoint chances to his advantage. Furthermore, the Thai clobbered a better first serve share of 70 percent as opposed to Chinese’s
50 percent and registered a spectacular 86 percent win on it.
If Doakmaiklee keeps his momentum, he can definitely reach far in this tournament and can bid for the €35,000 prize money.
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