Vesely rallies from a set down to win
PUNE: World No 107 Jiri Vesely did not have a great start but found his forehand firing to ensure that he finished on top by registering a 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(11) victory against Ilya Ivashika of Belarus and entering the semifinal of the ATP Tata Open Maharashtra at Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex here on Friday.
The contest, which concluded after two hours and 29 minutes, was even on most of the points before Vesely managed to close it in the tie-breaker.
“Sometimes you have to go through such matches, you have to just stay calm and focused and get every ball back. He can get nervous as well, he did, and in the end I stayed just a bit more calm but it was 50-50,” explained Vesely who will now face Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania—who defeated Korean Yuichi Sugita 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2—in the semi-final on Saturday.
The first set turned out to be tricky for Czech Republic native
Vesely as he was not able to collect points on his first serve. Ivashika had good control over his serve and with his powerful returns managed to break
Vesely twice to take the set 6-2.
“After the first set, I was very frustrated with my game. I guess that was actually the key to why I turned it around. I started to play much more free and I broke him twice in the second set which normally isn’t easy. I felt really free, and I started to play aggressive, going for it. So that was really important to come back into the match,” added Vesely who hit 13 aces as compared to eight by his opponent.
The second set was a complete transformation for Vesely as he displayed flowing tennis and collected points with ease. Ivashika fought really well in the third set and forced the set into the tie-breaker but could not cross the victory line. “In the third set, we both felt we can make it to the semis and we both didn’t have many chances, and it was just about one or two points in the end and who was going to take that,” Vesely said.
RESULTS-Singles: Jiri Vesely (CZE) bt Ilya Ivashika (Blr) 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(11); 2Ricardas Berankis (LTU) bt 5-Yuichi Sugita (JPN) 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2; Doubles: Andre Goransson (SWE) and Christopher Rungkat (INA) bt Romain Arneodo (MON) and Andre Begemann (GER) 6-4, 7-6 (1).