Yannick Mertens wins against Patrik Rosenholm in 2nd qualifier round – SkiStar Swedish Open 2011
Qualifying rounds of SkiStar Swedish Open enter its final round, with the sixth seeded Belgian, Yannick Mertens winning his contest against the local boy, Patrik Rosenholm, on Sunday.
Being played at Bastad, Sweden, the contest ended to the dismay of the local crowd, as Rosenholm surrendered to his opponent in straight sets, 5-7, 2-6, to let him one step closer to the main draws of the ATP (Association of Tennis
Professionals) World Tour 250 tournament.
24-year-old Mertens was very aggressive throughout the contest, finishing off the match in just one hour and twelve minutes of play. The Belgian went through some tough time in the opening set but once he got the winning momentum,
he cruised through the second set with the utmost ease to register victory.
The opener took off with intense tennis from both contestants and early exchanges of serve breaks. Rosenholm was the first one to break in the third game, only to be broken in the very next game to fritter away the initial advantage
he had. The Swede struck another break point a couple of games later but his four double faults at the most critical moments of the opener proved extremely lethal for him, letting Rosenholm to sting two consecutive serve breaks. The Belgian took full advantage
of his opponent’s bleak game and his third break point of the day let him an opportunity to serve for set at 6-5.
Mertens served out of the opening set at 7-5 to get 1-0 lead in the competition and then continued with his wining impetus in the next set as well to push Rosenholm out of the contest. The Swede suddenly dropped his game and a
series of unforced errors from his racquet bestowed easy points to Mertens. The Belgian broke in the second game of the set and then again in the sixth to inch closer to a convincing victory.
Rosenholm had two break opportunities in the second set but he frittered away both of them to remain at a disadvantage. Mertens reeled off 29 of the total 51 points being played in the set number two and reached victory at 6-2
to move into the final round of the SkiStar Swedish Open qualifier draws.
The Belgian will now compete against the top seed Argentine, Diego Junqueira, for a place in the main draws of the tournament. the Argentine was successful against Andrei Gorban of Moldova in the second round of the qualifiers
on Sunday, defeating him in straight sets 7-5, 6-1, to book a date with the Belgian in the final round.
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