Based on their early success, German tennis fans have nothing to worry about the future of their men's tennis! After Diego Dedura-Palomero and Niels McDonald, Jamie Mackenzie became the third player born in 2008 with a Challenger win.
The 17-year-old entered his second professional tournament at the Challenger in Bonn and bested Matheus Pucinelli De Almeida 6-0, 6-4 in an hour and 17 minutes for a perfect start at this level of competition.
The red-headedyoungster stormed over the opponent from the top-300 in the opening set, providing a bagel in 19 minutes. The German forged a 5-1 advantage in the second set before sealing the deal after a struggle.
Jamie claimed 24 points more than his opponent. A teenager outplayed the more experienced rival behind the first and second serve, denying three of four break points and mounting the pressure on the other side.
Pucinelli De Almeida could not follow that pace, losing 55% of the points in his games and getting broken five times from 12 chances presented to the home player. Mackenzie played flawless tennis in the opener.
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He dropped four points in six games and provided a bagel in no time. The Brazilian missed a forehand in the first game of the encounter and dropped serve. He struggled again at 0-2 and sprayed a backhand error to experience a break at love.
The young gun fired a service winner in the fourth game and notched another break a few minutes later after a sharp return. The German wrapped up the opener with a service winner in game six, making a perfect debut on the Challenger level.
Matheus saved break points at the beginning of the second set and ended his downfall. However, Mackenzie landed a backhand winner in the third game for a break and an early advantage.
The 17-year-old made another push on the return at 3-1. He seized the fifth break chance to extend the gap and move closer to the finish line after 51 minutes. Jamie saved two break points in the sixth game and forged a 5-1 advantage.
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The German served for the win at 5-2 and sent a routine forehand long to drop serve.Pucinelli De Almeida held in the next one, reducing the deficit to 5-4. Mackenzie served for the win in game ten and wasted three match points.
He denied a break point with a powerful serve and seized the fourth match point with a powerful serve for his first Challenger victory at 17.
