Feliciano Lopez rallies past Steve Darcis into the second round – AEGON Championships 2012
Fifth seed, Feliciano Lopez of Spain, survived a scare in the second set to beat the 71st ranked Belgian, Steve Darcis, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, in the second round at the AEGON Championships in London on Wednesday. The Spaniard took just
an hour and 36 minutes to beat his opponent in a tough match.
Lopez and Darcis held their serve in the first seven games to take the score to 4-3 in the favour of the Spaniard. Lopez hit a blow to the Belgian in the eighth and capitalised on it to triumph 6-3.
The left-hander pounded four aces and 59 percent of the first serves in the opener. He had a brilliant conversion rate, sealing 12 of the 13 first and eight of the nine second delivery points. The 30-year-old also did a good job
on the second returns, as he clinched three of the seven points on them. Lopez did not provide any break chance to his opponent and converted one of the two of his own.
Lopez and Darcis exchanged a single break in the first six games of the second set, levelling the score at 3-3. It was an all Darcis show afterwards, as he grabbed three straight games, breaking the Spaniard in the eighth game
and holding his next serve to seal it 6-3.
The Belgian banged in three aces and 84 percent of the first deliveries, keeping his first serve percentage at 84. The right-hander won most of the points on the serves and returns. On the other hand, Lopez served poorly, as he
committed three double faults and maintained a first delivery percentage of just 48. The Spaniard failed to save any of the two break threats he came across and could not convert the only one he got.
Lopez and Darcis put on a brilliant serving display in the final set, winning their serve in the first 11 games and taking the score to 6-5 in the former’s favour. Serving to stay in the contest at that moment, the Belgian faltered
under pressure and lost it, going down 5-7.
Ranked 17th in the world, Lopez made a drastic improvement in his serve, bombarding nine aces and 79 percent of the first deliveries. The Spaniard converted 21 of the 22 points first serves into points. The 6ft 2in tall
capitalised on one of the two break points he received.
Lopez is pitted against ninth seed, Kevin Anderson of South Africa, in the third round.
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