OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 10.00am.
THE MTN Champions tennis tournament got off to an exciting start at the University of Pretoria on Wednesday when Australian John Fitzgerald ousted top-seed Henri Leconte 6-7 (1-7), 6-3, 12-10 in one hour and 36 minutes.
Fitzgerald, struggling with a sore knee, let Leconte lead the opening set until he broke the Frenchman’s serve in the ninth game, before forcing the set to a tie-break. Leconte cruised through the break, taking it 7-1, but Fitzgerald came back strong in the second set, breaking Leconte in the fourth game and opening the way to levelling the match.
The final set was a champion’s tie-breaker, and this time Fitzgerald left nothing to chance. At 8-8 Leconte served an ace, aiming for the match point, but the Aussie saved, and two points later made a match point of his own. The Frenchman fought back with an ace to make it 10-10, to which the fighting Fitzgerald responded with a heavy forehand volley for a match point on his own serve. A net return by Leconte wrapped it up on something of a tame note.
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