Andreas Seppi prevails over Ryan Harrison to reach the final – AEGON International 2012
Third seed, Andreas Seppi of Italy, came across limited resistance before beating world number 53, Ryan Harrison, in straight sets 7-5, 6-1 in the semi-finals at the AEGON International in Eastbourne, England on Friday. The Italian
reached the finish line after an hour and 15 minutes.
Seppi and Harrison started off by winning their serve in the first two games and taking the score to 1-1. They swapped a break of serve in the next two, evening out the proceedings at 2-2. The subsequent seven games went with serve
to take the score to 6-5 in favour of the Italian. Seppi grabbed a break at that moment and closed the opening set 7-5.
Ranked 26th in the world, the Italian fired a couple of aces and 61 percent of the first deliveries on target, sealing 15 of the 23 points on them. On the other hand, Harrison was pretty erratic on the second ones, as
he committed three double faults, losing eight of the 18 points on them. The American converted one break point he received but failed to save two of the four he faced in the opener.
The second set was a pretty one-sided affair, as Seppi allowed the American to claim only one game till the end. The Italian dominated from the beginning, capturing opening four and racing to a 4-0 lead. Harrison succeeded in holding
his serve and reducing the trail to 1-4. Seppi captured two more in a row and grabbed the second set 6-1.
The Italian did not hit any ace and committed one double fault in the second set. He had a first serve percentage of 76, winning 11 of the 16 points on them. Seppi performed outstandingly on the second returns, as he snatched all
the four points. The Italian could not put away the only break threat he came across but did a great job by utilising three of the five opportunities he created.
Earlier in the day, Seppi overpowered Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber in the quarter-finals. The Italian star was leading 7-5, 2-1 when his German rival quit the match due to ankle injury. The match lasted for only an hour and
two minutes.
Seppi is slated to take on former world number one, Andy Roddick of USA, in the title match. The American was leading 6-3, 3-1 against the 72nd ranked, Steve Darcis, when the Belgian retired from the match with back
injury.
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