Andreas Seppi triumphs over Julien Benneteau in opening round – China Open 2012
Italian star, Andreas Seppi, recorded a 6-1, 2-0 retirement victory against the French challenger, Julien Benneteau, at the China Open 2012 on Tuesday. The Frenchman suffered a right arm injury before retiring in the opening round at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 Series event held in Beijing, China.
Seppi dominated throughout the battle before the French star endured an arm injury at this outdoor hard court event. After recording the retirement victory in a 32-minute marathon, the Italian not only avenged his loss at the Australian Open earlier this circuit but also levelled the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head Series by 1-1 against the 30-year-old.
The 28-year-old thundered into the National Tennis Center. He drew the first blood in the second game and jumped to a 2-0 lead. Despite losing his serve in the third game, Seppi went on a four-game killing spree and pulled out the opener with a breadstick.
Ranked 25th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Seppi impressively cashed in the lone break chance to keep his opening serve. The Italian then warded off both breakpoints he faced and leaped to a 2-0 lead. However, Benneteau suffered an arm injury after that and subsequently retirement from the event.
The 28-year-old outclassed his opponent completely in this 32-minute venture. He produced a slightly lower first serve share of 59 per cent as compared to his rival’s 62 per cent but impressively marked 13 out of 20 points on it.
Seppi will face off the American challenger, Sam Querrey, who stunned eighth seeded Fernando Verdasco in three sets to reach this spot.
The world number 33 on the other hand was coming off from a final showdown at the Proton Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur (lost to second seeded Juan Monaco in final round). He was looking forward to get breakthrough and capture his maiden ATP title at this tournament. However, the injury blow crashed his dreams and rewarded Seppi a second round spot.
The second seed, David Ferrer, also pulled out from the tournament. The Spaniard was trailing 4-5 against the Taiwanese contender, Yen-Hsun Lu, before he retired with stomach virus.
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