David Nalbandian overwhelms Steve Darcis in the opening round clash – Sony Ericsson Open 2012
Former world number three, David Nalbandian of Argentina, showed glimpses of his vintage form on Wednesday when he outplayed the unseeded Belgian opponent, Steve Darcis, in the opening round of the Sony Ericsson Open. The reigning
world number 50, Nalbandian, took one hour and 55 minutes of play to register a 6-4, 7-6(0) score line against the 28-year-old Belgian.
It was Nalbandian’s 12th victory in the 2012 ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) season and the first one against Darcis in singles encounters. The 30-year-old Argentine veteran took off the contest in his usual
aggressive manner and got the better of his opponent early by grabbing the opening set. He was stretched to his limits in the following set, with Darcis fighting desperately to force his way back in the match. Nalbandian kept his basics right and prevailed
the tie breaker round to conclude the matchup in his favour.
Nalbandian had 60 per cent first serve accuracy in the match, coughing five double faults and banging in two aces. He secured 32 out of 50 first serve points, with his opponent closely following him with 27 out of 48 points. The
Argentine crafted 14 break opportunities and only five conversions proved sufficient for him to wrap up victory in the end.
The first serve break of the day came in the seventh game of the opener, with Nalbandian leading 4-3. Darcis came up with a fitting reply in the eighth game, only to be broken in the very next one to trail 4-5. The Argentine veteran
served out of the first set at 5-4, getting one up in the match.
A more gruelling second set was witnessed, with a total of six break points being exchanged between the two contestants. Darcis laboured extremely hard to enforce a tie-breaker round into play but collapsed in the decider, failing
to pocket a single point and submitting the set to the Argentine at 6-7(0).
Nalbandian will now take on the ninth seed Serbian, Janko Tipsarevic, in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open. Tipsarevic received a bye to have a direct access to the second round of the draw.
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