Rio Open presented by Claro, Brazil

[CR77] Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) vs. [CR156] Marco Cecchinato (ITA)

Veteran players are realizing that winning matches easily against lower ranked players is no longer guaranteed. There is a of crop of young, talented, and confident players that have taken the tour by storm. Nieminen had his hands full against the young Italian and had to fight very hard to win 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Cecchinato showed his age/inexperience when he served for the match and was unable to conquer the nerves to win his first ATP Tour match.  Nieminen took full advantage of his opponent’s nervous play and applied even more pressure as Cecchinato started making poor shot selections.  Faced with the reality that he had lost the lead and potentially the match, Cecchinato’s confidence disappeared.  He essentially gifted Nieminen the match as doubts crept in and his game dissolved into a rash of errors.