Benoit Paire dumps Philipp Petzschner to enter round two – Shanghai Rolex Masters 2012
French contender, Benoit Paire, tumbled the German qualifier, Philipp Petzschner, in straight sets at the Shanghai Rolex Masters 2012 on Monday. He nudged up a 7-6(2), 6-4 victory against the world number 100 to secure a place in the second round at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters 1000 event held in Shanghai, China.
Paire stayed on right track to bid for his maiden career title after stomping over the qualifier in their first encounter. He needed one hour and 16 minutes to power into the round of 16 at this outdoor hard court event taking place from 6th to 14th October.
The French rising star made a drastic entry at Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena. He suffered the first blow in the opening game and fell at 0-2. However, he remained focused and not only snatched his break back in the sixth game but held his remaining serves, eventually taking the set to a tie-breaker. Paire breezed to a 4-0 lead before closing out the opener with a 7-6(2) win.
Ranked 23rd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Paire kept momentum floating in the following set. He swiftly bagged his entire serves after dusting away all three breakpoints he came across. He got the breakthrough in the fifth game after capitalising on one out of three break chances and eventually sealed the set by winning six games to four.
American contender, Sam Querrey, will join Paire in the following set. He jolted down the local wild card entrant, Zhe Li, with a breadstick in just under an hour.
"I feel like I'm playing better now than a year and a half ago when I was ranked No. 17," said Querrey after conquering the local challenger. "I feel like I'm playing better now. I'm more confident. Felt good out there today. It was fun to play in that stadium. I thought I served great. I thought I returned well and I took advantage of the break points. That was the key."
Querrey failed to block the only breakpoint he faced but cashed half of the 10 break chances to formulate a 6-3, 6-1 victory.
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