Elmer Moller is ready for the second round of the Madrid Open, a Masters 1000 tournament. The Dane lived up to his status as a favorite against the Italian Federico Cina, who was beaten 6-4, 7-6.
After an excellent performance in a set and a half, Moller suddenly lost his stylish stride and got himself into big trouble in the second set before he managed to claim the win in the final tiebreak.
The Dane had entered the main tournament through two wins in the qualification, while the 19-year-old Italian was awarded a wildcard even though he is ranked 36 places lower than his Danish opponent.
Elmer Moller missed a string of break points during the first set, and both players held serve until Moller finally managed to break Cina's serve to lead 5-4.
Moller then squandered two set points but still managed to claim the first set and celebrated the set win with a clenched fist towards the crowd.
The pattern was the same at the beginning of the second set. Moller served well and was particularly strong from the backhand as the young Italian began to make more and more unforced errors.
Leading 5-3, Moller had the chance to serve home the match, but then he began to lose his stride. He started with a double fault, then missed a match point, and ended up losing his serve for the first time in the match.
In Cina's serve, Moller then hit two more match points into the net and a third one out of the court to hand the Italian a lifeline.
It looked like a meltdown was underway when Moller then lost his own serve, but he managed to tighten up in time and immediately broke back to 6-6.
In the tiebreak, Moller fell behind 2-4, but found the solutions after the end change. He won five successive points and could celebrate a victory that was more difficult than necessary. In the second round, Gabriel Diallo awaits.
The Canadian is ranked 36th in the world, but has not had a particularly impressive clay season, losing three out of four matches.
