American Summer 2013 - Lexington #4

The second round in Lexington had Greg facing up against the No. 1 seed, 25 year-old Ukrainian Illja Marchenko, currently ranked 150, having dropped from 114 last week when the draw was done, with a high rank of 67. A tough assignment with much riding on the match for both players, with Greg needing to win to make sure he makes the cut for qualifying for the US Open, whilst Marchenko wants to do well in order to get his ranking below 104 and make the cut for he main draw or be seeded in qualifying.

Essential equipment

The first set was a tight affair and it was just one break of serve that separated the players. Marchenko saved the break point opportunity Greg had, while Greg could only save one of the two break point opportunities against him, Marchenko winning the 1st set 6-4.
In the second set, with the luxury if the first set under his belt, Marchenko attacked Greg's serve and got a double break up. Greg pegged him back a break to close the gap but could not get the other break back. Marchenko was then able to hold serve and, with the pressure on Greg to stay in the match, he broke Greg for the third time in the set, to win the set 6-2, and the match 6-4, 6-2.

Ukranian Illya Marchenko

It was not the best serving display by Greg, serving at 48% in the first set and a better 55% in the second, not enough to put the pressure on the No. 1 seed. Still a good week for him, with three wins out of four. Hopefully by qualifying and winning the 1st round will give him enough points for him to be able to sneak into the US Open qualifying tournament. The cut is normally around 250 and Greg's ranking should be around that mark next week, depending on other results in tournaments around the globe.