Feliciano Lopez battles past Flavio Cipolla in the second round – Australian Open 2012
Spanish contestant, Feliciano Lopez, was tested to his limits by the Italian contender, Flavio Cipolla, in the round two of the Australian Open on Wednesday. Lopez hung in the matchup for two hours and 25 minutes to register victory
at Court 8 in Melbourne, Australia. He spared nothing at all, especially in the first two sets and settled the final scores at 7-5, 7-6(4), 6-2.
Both players were squaring off at tennis courts for the first time in their careers so the build up to the match was pretty shaky. World number 19, Lopez was hot favourite to win the match considering his superior ranking and more
experience in playing at these elite platforms. 28-years-old, Cipolla gave the best shot of his career to pull up an upset but luck was not favouring his cause.
A tipsy turvy opening set was witnessed at both ends of the courts. The match started with a successful serve game for both players but the follow-up was pretty substandard. Three breakthroughs in succession gave the lead to the
superior ranked Spaniard.
Two more serve breaks were traded in the seventh and eighth game of the set that kept the scores ticking. Vital break point conversion for the Italian in the tenth game levelled the scores at 5-5 but his opponent reclaimed the
lead with a following successful break serve. Lopez served for the set and successfully accomplished his goal.
Both players started the second set cautiously, which helped them to capitalize on their serves but the lack of aggression at either ends finished off with zero breaks. The see-saw battle between the scores continued till the end
of the set and the tie-breaker round was enforced. With immense experience and superior game play, Lopez bagged the decider and enhanced his sets lead.
Sloppy display of tennis helped both players to hand on to their respective serves in the first three games of the third set. Cipolla was tiring and her fatigued serves provided an opportunity to his opponent; Lopez clubbed it
with both hands and broke serve to take the lead. He carried his lead till the end and broke serve in the eighth game to confirm his third round spot.
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