Bernard Tomic stuns Kevin Anderson in opening round – Shanghai Rolex Masters 2011
A surprising result was seen in the opening round matchup, with the world number 30, Kevin Anderson of South Africa, crashing out of the Shanghai Rolex Masters at the hands of the 49th ranked Australian, Bernard Tomic, on Monday afternoon.
The exciting contest was staged on the outdoor hard courts of the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China, with the unseeded Aussie registering victory in three sets, 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-3. Winner of the South African Open
this year, Anderson, hung in the matchup for two hours and thirty seven minutes to make a place in the second round of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters Series event.
18-year-old Australian displayed his amazing tennis skills to outplay Anderson after a stiff contest. Tomic clinched the opener in a tie breaker round but the South African did the same in the following set to level the matchup with one set apiece. Anderson
went through a terrible slump in the final set, with Tomic registering his 14th victory of the current ATP season.
Despite banging 25 cracking aces and securing 68 out of 83 first serve points in the matchup, Anderson finished on the losing side in the end. The South African utterly failed to register a serve break in the entire matchup, squandering away two vital break
opportunities to remain at the back foot throughout.
The opening two sets witnessed not a single serve break from both contestants. Tie breaker rounds were enforced in both sets, with Anderson and Tomic pocketing one set a piece to keep the competition on even terms. The only serve break of the day came from
the racquet of the Tomic in the second game of the fin al set and the Aussie kept his lead to conclude victory at 6-3 to get through to the second round of the tournament.
Tomic will take on the world number eight, Mardy Fish of the United States, in the next clash to battle for a place in the third round of the Shanghai Masters. Being the fifth seed in the tournament, Fish received a bye to get a direct access to the second
round of the Masters Series event.
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