Though one. and it seems ill be waiting some more for my first apt >=250 title
I must say i had much luck in first set. richie broke me right at the beginning and i rebroke immediately after with a netcord. and hit at least 2-3 more net cords during that set. i broke him again for 4-2 lead, but he rebroke after that. i had two set points on 5-4 but failed to convert them. two more set points on 6-5 for me, but we entered the tie break. he won it easily, i had no chance at all (7-1).
In second set i decided to play more at the net and i succeeded to win the set. i broke him for 3-2 lead, held my serve until 5-3 although he had 3 break points during 4-3. Broke him again for 6-3.
In third set he broke me early but i managed to rebreak and get to 4-4 although i felt much more pressure on my serve than he did on his. finally, he broke me for 5-4 lead. he had 40-15 lead, but i managed to get to deuce. i had 5 break points in a row after that, failed to convert them. and one more after his match point but he managed to win game, set and match.
congratulations to richie who was better player in the game. although it was a thriller with me winning second set, i felt like he was dominating whole match. he played so strong at the beginning in first set that i had no idea what to do. he was a wall on the baseline and on the net, started to doubt my game and lost some confidence. even though i had set points in first set, still felt like i was a worse player. i was no match for him on baseline so i started s&v 2nd and 3rd set which was the only reason why i managed to get this to be a tough match until the end.
the best player at the moment for me. hope there will be day when i will defeat him for my first major title
