World #75 Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands upset #7 seed Jarkko Nieminen of Finland to set up an all-Dutch clash against Robin Haase in the second round of the Thailand Open 2013 in Bangkok.
Sijsling won in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (2) on Monday, firing 8 aces to Nieminen’s one and won a staggering 94 percent of his first service points.
The Dutchman broke his opponent twice – in the fifth and ninth games – to take the first set 6-3.
Nieminen fought back, breaking Sijsling early in the third game of the second set and took a 3-1 lead. The match appeared headed for a decider had the Finn not let slip his advantage in the crucial tenth game as he was broken on his third break point.
Spain’s Feliciano Lopez hits a forehand against Laslo Djere of Serbia during the first round of the 2013 Thailand Open tennis tournament in Bangkok, Monday, Sept. 23.
Sijsling consolidated the break, holding his next service game that included two aces, to take the match to a tiebreaker. The Dutchman jumped to a 5-0 lead in the tiebreaker and won it 7-2.
In the first round match that followed, #6 seed Feliciano Lopez of Spain won his first match in Bangkok after storming past 556th-ranked Serbian Laslo Djere in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. Lopez had lost in the opening round in all three previous visits to the event. The Spaniard won 80 percent of points on his serve and did not face a break point in the match.
The tournament’s top seeds, Thomas Berdych and Richard Gasquet were due to appear later in the week after being given byes in the first round. Scotland’s Andy Murray was forced to withdraw from the tournament last week after he underwent surgery on a long standing back injury.
Tickets for the tournament can be obtained at www.thailandopen.org.
