Canberrans came out in droves to witness Sam Groth (VIC) advance to the second round of the East Hotel Canberra Challenger, in an epic first round clash with world No.563 Vijay Prashanth (IND).
In what was the longest match of the tournament to date, Groth took two hours and 39 minutes to dispatch Prashanth.
Describing the win as “lucky”, the 29-year-old Davis Cup player got off to a slow start. However he turned the tables, winning a mammoth second set tiebreak 10 – 8. Groth went on to break serve early in the final set. After serving up 20 aces, Groth took the match, 6-7 [1], 7-6[8], 3-6.
Earlier on Day 2, Canberra’s James Frawley (ACT) looked on track to continue his dream run that took him from the weekend’s qualifying rounds to the main draw, however fellow Aussie Aleksandar Vukic (NSW) proved too strong, winning 7-6 [4], 6-2, 6-2.
Despite the loss, Frawley was upbeat with the way the match played out, considering how he earned his place in the tournament.
“I’m really happy with my performance throughout the tournament,” he said. “I need to build on this week and get more matches under my belt.
“My goal is to be fit and healthy for the entire year. I’m looking to play the Australian circuit over the next few months which finishes with two clay court events in Canberra [in March 2017] and then I’d like to play in Europe.”
After only arriving in Australia yesterday, eighth seed Dudi Sela (ISR) sped through his first round match, defeating qualifier Luca Margaroli (SUI) in straight sets 6-1, 6-1 in a brief 49 minutes.
“I arrived yesterday from India because I played semi’s over there, so it wasn’t easy to play today because of the jet lag,” he said.
“It’s always good to start the year with a lot of matches to get some points and the ranking up. If you start the year well, it’s good, less pressure.”
In other matches, 19-year-old Daniel Nolan (VIC) looked to be on track to cause the first upset of the tournament taking the first set against second seed Gerald Melzer (AUT). Nolan couldn’t hold back the world No.84, the Austrian winning the match 4-6, 7-5, 7-6[6].
Fourth seed and world No.78 Renzo Olivo (ARG) defeated another Aussie teen, Jake Delaney (NSW) in a well fought match 6-2, 5-7, 7-5.
Tomorrow’s order of play features the entire second round of singles matches commencing at 10am. Sam Groth will again take to centre court from 2pm to take on second seed Gerald Melzer (AUT). Doubles matches will also continue into the second round.
Tournament information including Order of Play can be found here.
Watch the Canberra Pro Tour Live Stream and keep up to date with live scores using the Pro Tennis Live App.
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