Xavier Malisse stuns Florian Mayer in second round – BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy 2012
Local crowd at the outdoor clay courts of Bucharest, Romania, were in for a huge surprise, as the defending champion, Florian Mayer, crashed out of the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy on Wednesday. The second seeded German was outsmarted
by Belgian’s Xavier Malisse in the second round’s play, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, falling short of his title defence at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 event.
Currently holding the number 21 spot in the ATP world Rankings, Mayer carried on his poor run against the inferior-ranked Belgian in the singles encounters. It was the third time that 67th ranked Malisse has defeated
the German tennis aces, gaining a 3-0 lead in the FedEx Head-to-Head record against him. He outplayed Mayer first in 2006 Delray Beach quarter-final and then again last year in the second round of the Wimbledon Championships. The 31-year-old Belgian veteran
continued his trend of stunning the German number one competitor on Wednesday as well, booking a berth in his first ATP World Tour quarter-final of the running season.
"I played well," said Malisse after registering his sixth victory of the year. "I think we played a good match and I’m very happy to win at the end. It feels good. This year’s been tough for me and it’s the first time I’ll play
quarter-finals this year. Physically I feel good after a long match. I worked hard last week and I’m happy it’s paying off."
Second seed Mayer hung in the contest for two hours and 15 minutes of play before submitting in the third set. He received an early shocker from the Belgian underdog opponent when he dropped the opening set in the last moments.
The defending champion made his way back in the competition by pocketing the second set but his game went through another slump in the decider, letting Malisse away to victory in a dismal fashion.
Malisse won 40 out of 58 points on his first serve and nailed four out of five break points en route to victory. He will face the other surprise contender, Attila Balazs of Hungary, in the quarter-final draw of the tournament.
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