Alexander Ward stuns Pedro Sousa in the second round – Madrid Challenger 2012 CH
Right-hander Portuguese, Pedro Sousa received a shocker at the hands of the British participant, Alexander Ward, in the second round of the Madrid Challenger 2012 held at the courts of Spain. Ward summed up his
2-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory in a nearly one hour and 35 minutes on Wednesday.
In the opener, none of the players was able to hold their initial serves but Sousa confidently advanced to sustain his lead and dissolved his rival’s serve twice. Ward completely lost his determination to win
and Sousa clinched the opportunity and took maximum advantage of the situation. He successfully held his serve the entire time in the set and stamped his 6-2 lead.
The British junior displayed an average initial serve precision of 58 percent, bagging away just nine of 14 first and two of 10 second delivery points. On the other hand, his challenger had five break point opportunities
and he could only capitalize on three. Sousa had 64 percent first serve precision with 10 of 14 points.
In the second set, the 22-year-old British rival managed to hold his initial serve in the set and drew the first blood. He score line evened out to 2-all in the fourth game. However, Ward quickly turned the tables
and the broke Sousa’s serve in the sixth game, marking a 4-2 lead. Although the Portuguese struggled hard to regain his former win, he miserably failed. Ward pushed his rival and terminated the set with a 6-4 score.
Ranked 440th in the ATP World Tour Rankings, Ward, displayed 68 percent first serve precision with 16 of 21 first but only three of 10 second delivery points. The world number 232nd,
Sousa, had a relatively lower initial serve accuracy of 48 percent, pocketing away eight of 12 first and five of 13 second serve points. From four break points, he won just one.
Ward completely dissolved his opponent’s pressure. He broke Sousa’s initial serve and completely shattered his confidence. He grabbed the initial two games without any hindrance and gradually progressed to terminate
the match with 6-1 win.
For the next match, Ward will contest against the German, Jan-Lennard Struff.
Tags: