Xavier Malisse defeats Alejandro Falla; cruises into the second round – UNICEF Open 2011
Third seeded Belgian Xavier Malisse sailed into the second round after trashing Colombian qualifier Alejandro Falla with a breadstick at UNICEF Open 2011, a warp-up for Wimbledon. He registered a 6-3, 6-1 victory over the qualifier at s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands on Tuesday.
Ranked 41st in the South African Airways ATP World Tour rankings, Malisse slaughtered Colombian, ranked 45 places below him, in just fifty-six minutes to book a second round spot. The Belgian overpowered 27-year-old Falla in the quarter-finals of this ATP World Tour 250 series event last year as well and after earning this victory, he extended the lead in the head-to-head series by 3-0 against the Colombian.
30-year-old blasted at this Dutch court and unleashed barrage of groundstrokes to reel off first four games in a row before Falla could hold on. He then lost his focus and failed to keep his serve in the sixth game. However, the Belgian star roared back and bagged his remaining serves to eventually clinch the set with a 6-3 win.
He displayed a solid performance as he clobbered a higher first serve share of 68 percent as compared to Falla’s 48 percent. The Belgian also registered a convincing 53 percent win on it and converted three out of eight breakpoint opportunities which help him to win the opener.
Malisse carried his winning ways in the final set as he took a 4-1 lead again. He then won the last two games to pocket a breadstick.
The Belgian produced a similar first serve share of 65 percent but earned a spectacular 85 percent win on it. He further Chocó dipped the set by facing zero breakpoint and converting two out of three breakpoint opportunities to his advantage.
A former top twenty star, Malisse displayed tremendous skills in the start of the season as he reached final at Chennai before losing to third seed Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka in three troublesome sets. Later his form dipped as he couldn’t even secure a quarter-final spot in any of the event he participated.
Malisse, a semi-finalist here last year, will next face Dutch wild card entrant, Jesse Huta Galung in front of the latter’s home crowd. It would be a worthwhile duel to watch and the Belgian needs to stay calm in an unsupportive environment to advance far in this event.
The Dutchman overpowered German Julian Reister by converting four out of seven breakpoint opportunities to his advantage and clinched with a 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 win later that day.
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