Vesely cleared his path to winning the first set with some mighty first serves but then, in the second set, his first serve began faltering, and he found himself in trouble. Cecchinato bided his time, slowly restoring his balance. He was back in trouble at 4:4 in the second set but managed to pull through even though Vesely had three break points (0:40). Those missed opportunities must have broken the Czech’s concentration. He did manage to save five set points on his serve but could not save the sixth one.
The third set exactly like the second one, with Cecchinato taking over as Vesely started cramping from fatigue. He could hardly move during the last three games and Cecchinato simply could not gamble that away.
- It was a difficult match as Vesely has a great serve, which makes it hard for anyone to get into rhythm. And then, near the end, he injured himself. There is nothing worse than having to play when your opponent is hurt, as you then lose the feel for the game. Finally, I started playing short balls as he was having trouble moving across the court. I wasn’t happy about it but it was the safest solution. A few months ago, however, I might have lost this match - said Cecchinato.
Guido Pella and Aljaž Bedene played a match packed with twists and turns (11 breaks in total). On Wednesday, the Slovenian celebrated his 29thbirthday but failed to give himself the gift of victory. Even though he was up 4:1 in the second set and close to reaching his goal, Pella won the next five games, took the match into the third set and was up 4:1, when drama returned once again: Bedene came back into the match, made it to 4:4, but then faltered in the tenth game and lost all points on his serve.
Consolation came in the form of a birthday gift from the organizers – a caricature of him and his brother.
