Alexander Ward, Josselin Ouanna proceed to the second round – Orange Open 2012
Alexander Ward beats Yen-Hsun Lu 7-6(8) Ret’d
Great Britain’s Alexander Ward advanced to the second round, as his opponent, Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei withdrew with an injury in the opening match at the Orange Open in Guadeloupe, France on Wednesday. Ward had won the first
set 7-6(8), when the second seed, Lu, quit the match.
Lu and Ward put on an excellent serving display, holding their serve throughout the first set to square off the score at 6-6 and take it to a tie-breaker. None of the two players surrendered and they went neck to neck till 8-8.
However, Lu faltered in the end and lost it 6-7(8).
Both players relied on their serve to win most of the points. Ward bombarded four aces and 73 percent of the first deliveries, claiming 27 of the 32 points on them. Lu, who was hampered by the injury, still managed to bang in six
aces and converted 23 of the 27 first serves into points. However, the Taiwanese also committed four double faults in the opener.
Lu called a trainer after losing the first set and took an injury break. His condition did not improve and the Taiwanese decided to retire. The contest lasted for an hour and three minutes.
Ward is slated to meet Belgian, David Goffin, for a place in the quarterfinals. Goffin ousted Michael Russell of USA in straight sets 7-6(5), 6-3 in the first round.
Josselin Ouanna defeats Marco Chiudinelli 6-4, 6-2
Wild card entrant, Josselin Ouanna of France, downed Marco Chuduinelli in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 to reach the second round.
Chiudinelli drew the first blood, as he broke Ouanna in the very first game to grab a 2-0 lead. However, Ouanna bounced back to level the score at 3-3. The Frenchman, who had the backing of his home crowd, hit another blow in the
10th game to seal it 6-4.
After winning the opener, Ouanna was in complete command of the match. The Frenchman allowed Chiudinelli to win just two games in the second set, striking twice to win 6-2.
Ouanna and Chiudinelli were erratic on the second serves, hitting four and three double faults respectively. Though, the Frenchman had an amazing first delivery conversion rate, as he bagged 23 of the 25 points on them. The 25-year-old
capitalised on four of the seven break opportunities he created in the match.
The Frenchman will take on top seed, Olivier Rochus, in the second round. Rochus beat Florent Serra in the previous match.
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