Florent Serra upsets Thomas Schoorel in the opening qualifying round – Sony Ericsson Open 2012
French contender, Florent Serra, surprised everyone after stunning the 19th seed, Thomas Schoorel, in straight sets at the Sony Ericsson Open 2012 on Monday night. He manifested a 6-3, 6-2 score line against the world number 123 to advance into
the final qualifying round at this Masters 1000 event taking place from 19th March to 1st April.
The French veteran took less than an hour to tumble over Schoorel. He broke the Dutch serve four times and lost his serve once to not only earn the spotlight but also secured a place in the final round of the qualifying competition.
Serra made a rickety entry at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park and suffered the first blow in the third game to trail at 1-2. However, he made a fitting reply after that and went on a four-game rampage before Schoorel could hold on again. The French plucked
his serve once more and clinched the opener with a 6-3 score line.
Rank 159th in the South African Airways ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Ranking, Serra carried his rhythm into the final set and broke the Dutch serve in the opening game. He then kept entire serves without facing any barrier
and capitalised on another break chance in the seventh game to seal the set with a 6-2 win.
The 31-year-old clobbered a slightly higher first serve share of 54 per cent in contrast with Schoorel’s 53 per cent and superbly availed 19 out of 22 points on it. He also coughed fewer double faults and smashed four aces to dominate throughout the match.
Next challenge for Serra is the 11th seed, Simone Bolelli, who hit back at Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Amer Delic in a three set thriller to set-up this duel. The beaming Italian lost his serve three times but broke Delic’s serve three times as well,
ultimately pulling out the match with a 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 victory in two hours and 16 minutes. He was all over the court throughout the battle and produced a higher first serve share of 76 per cent as opposed to his rival’s 62 per cent.
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