Kigali 1 Ch R1: Guy Orly Iradukunda [WC] def. Jacob Brumm 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3)

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Despite being a set and a break down in this match, Iradukunda dug deep while capitalizing on J. Brumm's erratic service game right after he broke, thus properly gaining some range and aggression. Furthermore, he balanced it up with some interesting net plays, which carried him in the important points on return, showcasing his potential in the crucial moments. Even though J. Brumm converted 80% of his break points and had 5 break points, mostly from the first set and a half, Iradukunda maximized his chances through the tie-breaker despite having one less chance and 5% lesser break point conversion percentage thanks to the aforementioned point construction.

On the other hand, Iradukunda's service game improved since he came back from a break down in the second set. Despite landing only 60% of his first serves in, he won 11% more points from his first serves than J. Brumm, aided by his 8 aces to the latter's 3 to get himself out of trouble in various occasions. However, it did not come with a risk, considering Iradukunda double-faulted 5 times than J. Brumm's 4, fading his second serve winning percentage to 34%, 25% lesser than J. Brumm, which might have explained some situations earlier in the third set.

With this victory, Iradukunda became the first Burundian to win a Challenger-level match, as well as winning his maiden Challenger main draw match, a first Challenger win in general since the Winnetka Challenger 2018. Picking up where he left off from a decade ago, he will face fifth seed Nicholas David Ionel, who defeated Joshua Sheehy 6-1, 6-2 in a dominant fashion. Knowing both players, becoming offensive with a proper execution should be an important key to survive in this match. Maybe, the story will continue this way.

New pick from ThePhenomenon✅ View pick 10 July 2018, 16:00 UTC Tennis - ATP Challenger: Guy Orly Iradukunda - Evan King pick: Full Event Home Guy Orly Iradukunda (Match Winner); stake: 5/10 ; odds: 3.400; Bet365 If clicking the link above does not work, copy and paste th…

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After being suspended overnight due to darkness...

The match between Jacob Brumm and Guy Orly Iradukunda continued, with their form after the second set becoming the main question. In this case, it was Iradukunda's ability to maintain his form from the second set where he came back from the *2-4 30-30 position to win 4 straight games, while J. Brumm might have had the chance to start afresh after the second set chaos.

It all started in the third game of the decider, where J. Brumm's erratic service game, marked by frequent double faults and a forehand error that created the break point, resulted in Iradukunda's break to 2-1. He went on consolidating his position to 3-1, but somehow got broken back (3-3) due to an erroneous service game with a +1 backhand error to top it off. Since then, the match carried on with 6 consecutive holds and had faster point construction, and the tie-breaker was all it came down to.

There, Iradukunda started the tie-breaker by tidily constructing his points with his volleys, setting the lead to 2-1 there. Even though J. Brumm initially held his serves somewhere, Iradukunda continued by setting up a mini-break thanks to his down-the-line finish, which outhit J. Brumm's forehand side. However, the most important points came from his successful volley to hold to 4-3 in the tie-breaker before J. Brumm got outhit from his forehand side by Iradukunda's preceding backhand (5-3). Since then, Iradukunda had not looked back, proceeding on holding his serves, including firing an unreturned serve, to secure the third set 7-6(3), as well as setting some milestones in his second-round advancement by not only it was his maiden Challenger main draw victory but also becoming the first Burundian to achieve such feat. History.

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J. Brumm was initially in control of the second set, which became more visible in the sixth game of the set. He came up with a successful volley for his 2-point lead to *3-2 0-30 moments before Iradukunda’s groundstrokes became erratic, peaked with a double fault to be broken to 4-2. In the subsequent game, J. Brumm started it with a backhand down-the-line winner in hopes to consolidate, followed by a successful volley, but somehow became more erroneous, peaked with a double-fault after a series of errors, which allowed Iradukunda to stay alive in this match, minimizing the gap through a break to 4-3.

Iradukunda then became more confident with his baseline game, starting the subsequent game with a backhand down-the-line winner before his intuitive volley paved the way to a crucial equalizer to 4-4, to the delight of th crowd. However, J. Brumm’s unforced errors caused him to appear even more faulty in the subsequent game, where his forehand finish went too wide that created Iradukunda’s break point. Ultimately, Iradukunda’s backhand return ace secured the break to 5-4, which earned him the opportunity to serve for the second set. Despite conceding two points midway, Iradukunda took the second set 6-4 thanks to his successful serve+1; however, the match had to be suspended afterwards due to darkness.

To be continued tomorrow afternoon (local time), second match in the Center.

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Guy Orly Iradukunda, former junior World No. 86 in 2014, who came all the way from Burundi, made his return to the Challenger circuit since the Winnetka Challenger 2018 upon receiving a wild card in this week's Kigali 1 Challenger. He faced an interesting challenge in the current World No. 730 Jacob Brumm, who graduated from Baylor University in 2022 and won his maiden ITF title in M15 San Diego 2023 and attained an ITF career-high ranking of 82. Knowing both players, this could be interesting to see how the former pick up where he left off, as well as how the latter progress in a field of a kind.

Initially, even though both players had their lead blown on return, they still managed to hold their service games, which might have suggested that the match might possibly be service game-heavy. However, Iradukunda's failed volley to J. Brumm's forehand pass created the latter's set point before its conversion due to a double fault (4-3).

Subsequently, J. Brumm then held his serves to 5-3, and seemed in control of the flow once he passed Iradukunda at the net, with a +1 failed volley that created his set point over a deep return before its conversion thanks to his forehand pass to Iradukunda's failed volley to break for the first set 6-3. As a result, J. Brumm set himself one set ahead from victory.

Kigali 2 Ch R1: Seita Watanabe/Takeru Yuzuki def. Christopher Rungkat/Pruchya Isaro 7-6(2), 7-6(4) Match Stats

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As return-heavy as it looked, this match turned out to be concluded in two tie-break sets. This way, their anticipatory returns under pressure turned out to be tested, with T. Yuzuki/S. Watanabe's forehand return aces setting their mini-breaks in both sets' tie-breakers before holding their service games right after. Interestingly, Rungkat/P. Isaro struggled to find their balance, taking into account how the Japanese pair tried to utilize their angles from the baseline, and while having most of their 3 chances in the second set, they were unable to capitalize on it considering T. Yuzuki/S. Watanabe's clutch appearance as well on their serves, thus the Japanese pair stood out by the end of this match.

Service game-wise, it appeared that both players had their own service game strengths. S. Watanabe/T. Yuzuki had an exceptional first serve winning percentage by 11% with 86% compared to Rungkat/P. Isaro's 75%, aided by their 3 aces to get themselves out of trouble in various occasions. On the other hand, double-faulting four times than Rungkat/P. Isaro's twice, S. Watanabe/T. Yuzuki found their second serve winning percentage faded to 56%, 7% lower than Rungkat/P. Isaro, but it was insufficient for the last week's runner-up to prevail in this match.

In the quarterfinals, S. Watanabe/T. Yuzuki will face the winner between third seeds Corentin Denolly/Damien Wenger or Sai Karteek Reddy Ganta/Guy Orly Iradukunda, which is currently ongoing as this was written. This could be an exciting play, with their balance becoming one of the main aspects to be looked after apart from their groundstrokes, might be neat!

View pick 10 July 2018, 16:00 UTC Tennis - ATP Challenger: Guy Orly Iradukunda - Evan King pick: Full Event Home Guy Orly Iradukunda (Match Winner); stake: 5/10 ; odds: 3.400; Bet365 If clicking the link above does not work, copy and paste the following URL in a new browse…