Isaac Becroft took another step in his fledgling pro tennis career as he almost pushed his opponent to a third set at the ASB Classic on day one.
He lost 6-3 7-5 to Belgium’s Zizou Bergs, but now really knows what he has to do to take the next step and how small mistakes can lead to a match getting away on him.
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Becroft has a current ranking of 939, a whopping 873 below than Berg and only in the second set did it show.
The 24-year-old originally from Whanganui was making his debut in the main draw of an ATP 250 event.
Becroft held serve in the first set until 3-3 in the windy conditions before the set escaped on him.
In the second set he raced out to a 3-0 lead thanks to some mixed shot making by Bergs.
However the Belgian held his own serve and came back strong to eventually break the Kiwi at 4-5 and ensue numerous long ralles between the pair as the experience of Bergs held and Becroft missed his opportunities.
Becroft is currently completing a master’s degree at Oklahoma State University with his intention to go fully pro in May.
Meanwhile, Michael Venus and Nikola Mektic won their first round doubles match at the tournament in a relatively comfortable
Seeded No 1 Venus and his new partner Mektic from Croatia were impressive in their 6-3 6-4 win over Santiago Gonzalez from Mexico and Austria’s Lucas Miedler after a break of serve in each set.