2011 French Open: Guillermo Garcia-Lopez prevails over Robert Kendrick in the first round
World number 33, Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez defeated American Robert Kendrick, ranked 87th in the world, in four sets 6-1, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in the opening round of French Open at Roland Garros on Sunday. Garcia-Lopez
took two hours and 28 minutes to beat his opponent in a tough contest.
The Spaniard was almost flawless in the opening set as he lost just a single game, breaking Kendrick three times and clinching the set 6-1. The 27-year-old had a below average first serve percentage, delivering just 43 percent
of the first serves and claiming 70 percent of the points on them in the first set. Garcia-Lopez converted three of the four break points he received and saved all the four break points he faced in the first set.
Both players held their serve in the first ten games of the second set, squaring off the score at 5-5 and forcing a tie-break. The Spaniard broke his opponent in the twelfth game to bag the set 7-5. The right-hander’s first serve
percentage dropped further as he managed to hit just 31 percent of the first serves. He hit thirteen winners and fourteen unforced errors in the second set.
Garcia-Lopez was looking to finish the match quickly as he broke Kendrick in the second game of the third set to grab a 2-0 lead. However, the American was quick to respond as he broke back in the very next game and held his serve
in the fourth game to equalize the score at 2-2. The 31-year-old broke again in the seventh game and capitalised on it to bag the set 6-4. The six feet and three inches tall fired six aces but his first serve percentage was quite low, hitting just 50 percent
of the first serves correctly and sealing 93 percent of the points on them. Kendrick converted two of the three break points he received on his opponent’s serve in the third set.
The fourth set went with serve until the eighth game when Kendrick’s serve was broken, resulting in a 5-3 lead for Garcia-Lopez. The Spaniard made full use of the break-through and held his serve in the ninth game to win the set
6-3. The 30th seed improved his serve as compared to the previous sets, keeping his first serve percentage at 63 percent and capturing 70 percent of the points on the first serve in the fourth set. Garcia-Lopez converted 38 percent of the first
returns into points in the fourth set. The Spaniard capitalised on the only break point he received on Kendrick’s serve and managed to save the one break point he faced on his own serve in the fourth set.
Garcia-Lopez is drawn to meet Tommy Haas of Germany or Marsel Ilhan of Turkey in the round of 64.
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