Fernando Verdasco strains pass Radek Stepanek; clears the first round – Wimbledon Championships 2011
Sheer entertainment was delivered to tennis fans present at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England, as the 21st seed Fernando Verdasco of Spain took down the Czech opponent, Radek Stepanek in a thrilling opening round match of the Wimbledon Championships on Tuesday.
The resilient Spaniard battled out for almost four hours before setting the final scores at 2-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(6), 9-7, to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, qualifying for the second round of the Grand Slam tournament.
Rated as number 22 in the world rankings, Verdasco exhibited vertical resilience to recover from a two set deficit to register a remarkable victory on the speedy grass court of London. Stepanek had the Spaniard in the opening two sets but Verdasco bounced right back in the contest and reeled of the following three sets consecutively to win the contest.
32-year-old Czech veteran defeated Verdasco on three consecutive occurrences during 2009 and almost did it for the fourth time on Tuesday but was denied by the brilliance of his opponent this time round. Verdasco’s victory over Stepanek was the 18th one of the running ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) season and it levelled the all-time head-to-head record against the Czech at 3-3.
The Spaniard successfully passed the test of steely nerves in the four-hour marathon contest, defeating the in-form Stepanek in the five-set thriller. The Czech raced past the opening two sets with ease and it appeared as if Verdasco was heading for an early exit from the Grand Slam event but tables were turned in the later parts of the competition, with the Spaniard winning in the end.
Verdasco fired 12 aces in the contest and cracked in four serve breaks, while suffering five break points from his opponent. He slowly gathered up pace in the third set, after being two down early in the game and stunned Stepanek by sealing the set at 6-3 to cut the deficit to 1-2.
The contest got even enthralling when the fourth set entered the tie breaker round, with Verdasco eventually winning at 7-6(6) and levelling the contest with two sets a piece. Both contestants threw everything they had in the final set, extending it to a total of 16 games. Finally Verdasco concluded his memorable victory at 9-7, to get into the second round draws of the Grand Slam, where he will take on the Dutch competitor, Robin Haase for a spot in the third round.
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