2011 Sony Ericsson Open: Andreas Seppi, Teymuraz Gabashvili move to the second round
Andreas Seppi beats Mischa Zverev 6-2, 6-7(9), 6-1
Andreas Seppi of Italy ousted Mischa Zverev of Germany in three sets 6-2, 6-7(9), 6-1 in the opening round at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on Thursday. The Italian took 1 hour and 56 minutes to undo his opponent.
Seppi broke his opponent twice in the first set, winning it 6-2. The Italian delivered 2 aces and 71 per cent of the first serves in the opening set. He won 67 per cent of the points on first serves. While, Zverev hit 55 per cent of the first serves, winning 61 per cent of the points on them.
The second set went to a tie-break as none of the two players received a single break point. Zverev hit a forehand winner at set point to clinch the marathon tie-break 11-9. Both players hit 2 aces in the second set.
After the match got tied at one set apiece, Seppi played aggressive game from the start of the third set. He broke his opponent in the fifth and seventh games to win the deciding set 6-1.
The Italian hit 45 per cent of the first serves and converted 70 per cent of them into points in the final set. The 27-year-old did not face any break point in the set. The right handed converted both break points he received in the deciding set.
Seppi is slated to face world number 23 Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine in the second round.
Teymuraz Gabashvili defeats Daniel Brands 6-2, 7-6(5)
In another first round match, world number 77 Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia prevailed over world number 83 Daniel Brands of Germany in straight sets 6-2, 7-6(5) to move to the second round.
The Russian broke Brands in the fifth and seventh games of the first set, winning it 6-2. He hit 2 aces and 55 per cent of the first serves in the opening set. The right handed capitalized on 2 of the 8 break points he received in the first set.
Gabashvili and Brands exchanged two breaks of serve in the second set, forcing a tie-break. The Russian went on to win the tie-break 7-5.
Gabashvili was erratic with his second serves as he hit 5 double faults. The 25-year-old saved 3 of the 5 break points he faced in the second set. On the other hand, Brands failed to save any of the 2 break points. The match lasted for 1 hour and 45 minutes.
The Russian will meet world number 16 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France in the next round. This will be the second meeting between these two. Tsonga leads Gabashvili 1-0 in the head-to-head record.
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