Former top 10 player, 31 year-old Chilean Nicolas Massu awaited Greg in the final round of qualifying for the Farmer's Classic ATP250 event in Los Angeles. Currently ranked 484, the experienced and talented Massu has a high rank of 9, achieved back in 2004, and is on the come-back trail after injury and a long run of indifferent results. A real challenge for Greg.
Serving first it was a nervous Greg who could not land a first serve and dropped his first game to love. Massu quickly went to a 2-0 lead. Greg steadied and was able to hold his next serve to get to 1-2. He then managed to get Massu to 30-40 and converted the opportunity to get back even at 2-2. Bouyed by the lnowledge he could make in-roads into Massu's serve Greg battled it out to hold his own serve, getting to 4-4 and then 5-4 up. Greg then applied more pressure on Massu bringing up another break-point opportunity, this time a set point. Massu obliged with a double fault and the first set was Greg's 6-4. Still another set to get.
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| Chilean Nicolas Massu |
Greg started the second set confidently in the first game but Massu pegged him back to deuce. Greg's nerve held and he held serve to lead 1-0. He then broke Massu and in an astonishing run, held serve and broke Massu again to lead 4-0, then 5-0. With Massu serving to save the set and the match Greg brought up triple match point at 0-40. Massu saved the first, then the second and then the third to get back to deuce. Greg brought up another match point, saved by Massu. Then on the fifth match point Greg managed to again break Massu, winning 8 games in a row to go from 4-4 in the first set to a 6-4, 6-0 win.
A great result for Greg which seems him qualify for an ATP Tour event for the first time in his career. Another stepping stone in his tennis journey.
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