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Maxime Cressy had an unfortunate service game in the second set of his match against Geoffrey Blancaneaux when he hit four double faults in a row to concede a crucial break at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille.
Maxime Cressy took an early lead in the first set of the match when he broke Blancaneaux's serve in his first game. He produced very strong service games throughout the set as he hit nine aces and did not give the Frenchman any break-point opportunities. Similarly in the second set, Cressy was up by a break at 4-3 when he served four double faults to gift away a crucial break of serve. Blancaneaux eventually went on to win the second set in the tie-break.
"The stuff of nightmares," TennisTV captioned the clip on Instagram.
In the third set, Maxime Cressy was unable to convert a break-point opportunity and the match went to a tie-break decider. The American won the first three points of the tie-breaker in a row and eventually won the match 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(4).
Cressy hit 22 aces and 13 double faults over the course of the match.
Maxime Cressy will face Benjamin Bonzi in the next round of the Open 13 Provence
Maxime Cressy detailed his thought process during the encounter against Blancaneaux in the post-match interview.
Cressy praised Blancaneaux's efforts and acknowledged that he had to remain fully focused on controlling what he could during the match, which he believes he did effectively.
“Amazing fight. He fought all the way up until the end. I had to stay extremely focused on what I can control and I think I did that very successfully,” the American said.
The 25-year-old revealed that during the tie-break in the final set, he advised himself to simply focus on winning his service points and not worry about his returns, as he finds success by letting go and not overthinking.
“In the tie-break I just told myself to, ‘Let go and just win all your serve points and don’t worry about how to return'. That’s how I work, unfortunately. I have to just let go and not think and then it works," Cressy added.
Maxime Cressy will be up against another Frenchman, Benjamin Bonzi, in the second round in Marseille. Benjamin Bonzi defeated Luca Van Assche to book his spot against the American. Bonzi and Cressy have never faced each other in an ATP tournament before.
