Sela nets rare clay win; Pe’er victorious as well
04/25/2012 05:13
Pe’er looking to record consecutive victories for the first time since February; Sela faces tough test against world No. 12.
Israel's Dudi Sela Photo: Asaf Kliger
Dudi Sela won his first ATP Tour match on clay in more than two years on
Tuesday, beating Romania’s Adrian Ungur 7-6 (2), 6-2 in the first round of the
Bucharest International.
The 27-year-old Israeli, ranked No. 63 in the
world, chose to forgo the French Open and most of the European clay-court season
last year to gather much-needed ranking points on the Challenger
circuit.
However, he is determined to succeed on the red surface he so
hates this year, especially as he needs points to secure his progress to the
London Olympics.
After opening his clay-court season with a win over
Ungur (93), Sela faces a far trickier hurdle in the second round when he comes
up against No. 1 seed and world No. 12 Gilles Simon.
Elsewhere, Shahar
Pe’er (54) won her first clay court match of the year, beating Magdalena
Rybarikova (90) 5-7, 6-3, 7- 5 in the first round of the Fes Grand Prix in
Morocco.
Pe’er, who played with a black armband to commemorate
Remembrance Day in Israel, will face France’s Mathilde Johansson in the second
round, looking to record consecutive victories for the first time since
February.