03.06.2015 16:52:55 | The defending champion of the Prostějov Challenger Jiří Veselý defeated Axel Michon in two sets in an unexpectedly tough battle. He advanced to the quarter-finals in which he is going to meet Filip Krajinovic of Serbia (99th ATP). Even though Veselý was a favourite he surprisingly struggled in a long match with a player raked 318th in the ATP who advanced to the main event from qualification. He only managed to turn the match around at the end of the second set when he started to play more aggressively and accurately. Veselý was losing 3:5 in the first set and 3:6 in the tie-break.
“Of course, I knew that Michon was ranked 320th in the ATP and that he had played five matches in three days. However, I struggled from the beginning till the end and I have admin I even played worse than against Fucsovics yesterday. It’s all in the head and I can’t concentrate. I won the tournament last year and I played the finals the year before. I know that if I play well, I can make it through to the finals again, which really ties me down. I’m playing a higher ranked opponent and I hope I’ll show better performance too. I definitely feel more comfortable when I play an opponent who plays well. I waited for a chance which fortunately came at 4:5 in the first set. Even though I had to save a few set points. My today’s performance wouldn’t suffice to advance to the semi-finals,“ said Veselý.
He continued to play inaccurately in the second set in which his opponent had six set-points. However, Michon started to play cautiously at critical moments similarly like in the first set. The more experienced Veselý broke his serve at 5:5 and converted the third match point after 2 hours and 20 minutes. He successfully saved ten set points in the match.
“I’ve never saved so many set points. I was always behind. What really helped me in the second set was that Michon became nervous at 0:40 and didn’t convert any of the set-points. He started to have hand spasms and his problems made me stronger. Yet still, I was pretty tired too,“ said Veselý.
