Carlos Taberner hustles Duje Ajdukovic 7-5 6-79 6-4 in the semifinal in the Maia Challenger on Saturday. Taberner will face off with Pedro Sousa in the final.
Live score progression and stats
Both players managed to hold their service games for the entire set. The only difference was just 1 break that Carlos grabbed in the 11th game (6-5) prior to finally winning the set (7-5).
The Spaniard converted 33% of his break points (1/3). He had 3 break points opportunities in the 5th (2-2 30-40) and the 11th game (5-5 15-40 and 30-40). On the other side, Ajdukovic1 was unable to convert any of his 3 break points. He had 3 break points opportunities in the 8th (4-3 15-40 and 30-40) and the 10th game (5-4 30-40).
They played 76 points. Taberner was the winner of the set after clinching 8 points more than Ajdukovic1 (42-34). The Spaniard surrendered 9 points on serve (26-9). Regarding the other side of the net, the Croatian conceded 16 points on serve (25-16).
Ajdukovic1 won the set after recovering 4 times from a break down. In fact, after dropping his serve 4 times in the 3rd (1-2), in the 7th (4-3), in the 9th (4-5) and in the 11th (5-6) game, Ajdukovic1 broke back 4 times in the 4th (2-2), in the 6th (4-2), in the 10th (5-5) and in the 12th (6-6) game before bringing the set at the breaker that he won 11-9.
Ajdukovic1 failed to serve out the set when leading 5-5 to be broken at 40.
Tiebreak
The Croatian won 8 minibreaks in the 2nd (2-0), 3rd (3-0), 6th (4-2), 10th (5-5), 14th (7-7), 18th (9-9), 19th (10-9) and 20th (11-9) point. On the other side, the Spaniard won 5 minibreaks in the 4th (1-3), 8th (4-4), 12th (6-6), 16th (8-8) and 17th (9-8) point.
This was the tiebreak sequence: 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 3-1, 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, 4-4, 5-4, 5-5, 5-6, 6-6, 7-6, 7-7, 7-8, 8-8, 8-9, 9-9, 10-9, 11-9
Duje converted 57% of his break points (4/7). He had 7 break points opportunities in the 4th (1-2 40-A), the 6th (3-2 40-A and 40-A), the 10th (4-5 30-40, 40-A and 40-A) and the 12th game (5-6 0-40). Ajdukovic1 saved 3 set points when he was 5-6, 7-8 and 8-9 down. Moreover, on the other side, Taberner converted 36% of his break points (4/11). He had his opportunities in the 3rd (1-1 30-40 and 40-A), the 5th (2-2 30-40, 40-A and 40-A), the 7th (2-4 15-40), the 8th (4-4 30-40) and the 11th game (5-5 30-40, 40-A, 40-A and 40-A).
They played 123 points. This was a hard-fought set and finally Duje won only 1 point more than Taberner (62-61). Duje conceded 35 points on serve (33-35). On the losing side, Carlos conceded 29 points on serve (26-29).
Taberner conquered the set after recovering from 1 break down. In fact, after conceding his serve in the 5th (2-3) game, The Spaniard broke back in the 6th (3-3) and in the 10th () game to conquer the set 6-4.
They contested 61 points. Carlos won 5 points more than the Croatian (33-28). Taberner surrendered 9 points on serve (18-9). on the other side of the net, the Croatian conceded 15 points on serve (19-15).
Carlos will add to his prize money $ 1,730 after winning this match. He has won already $ 4,240 after this win. If he wins the next match, Taberner will add $ 2,960 to his earnings to get in total $ 7,200 in total.
Stats: aces, double faults, breaks, winners
3h:06
At the end of the match, Carlos scored 136 points vs. Duje’s 123.
Taberner won this match even if he was not so effective in converting his break points after he converted only 35% (7/20) of the procured opportunities. On the other side, the Croatian was struggling to find the solution in converting his break points (only 38% – 5/13). That was one of the key issues for his defeat.
After this encounter, the head to head between Taberner and Ajdukovic1 is 1-0 for Carlos.
Draw and next match H2H: Carlos Taberner vs. Pedro Sousa – stats
Taberner will compete against Sousa in the final.
This will be the 7th time that Carlos Taberner and Pedro Sousa square off. The head to head is 4-2 for Sousa (see full H2H stats), 3-2 on clay.
The last time that they fought against each other, Sousa won 6-4 6-0 in the semifinal in Tunisia F19 back in 2016.
Tennis Scores in Maia Challenger
- Carlos TabernerTaberner – Duje AjdukovicAjdukovic (7-5 6-79 6-4) – Stats and score progression
- Pedro SousaSousa – Bernabe Zapata MirallesZapata Miralles (6-4 6-1) – Stats and score progression
Upcoming matches
- Carlos TabernerTaberner – Pedro SousaSousa (0-0) – H2H details and stats
