Frederico Gil, Florian Mayer qualify for the second round of Sony Ericsson Open
Frederico Gil defeats Paul Capdeville 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(6)
World number 84 Frederico Gil of Portugal overcame 146th ranked Paul Capdeville of Chile in three sets 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 in the opening round at the Sony Ericsson Open on Thursday.
The Portuguese thrashed Capdeville in the opening set, breaking him three times in the set to win it 6-1. Gil fired in 4 aces and 80 per cent of the first serves in the opening set. The right handed did not face any break point in the set. While, Capdeville
saved just 1 of the 3 break points he faced in the opening set.
The Chilean fought back as he broke Gil twice in the second set, claiming it 6-3. Capdeville delivered 67 per cent of the first serves in the second set and converted 81 per cent of them into points. In comparison, the Portuguese hit 61 per cent of the first
serves, winning 52 per cent of the points on them.
In the deciding set, Gil and Capdeville broke each other once to take the set to a tie-break. Gil handled the pressure better than his opponent in this crunch situation, showing consistency in his game to win the tie-break 8-6. Both players converted 1 of
the 3 break points they received in the final set. The match lasted for 2 hours and 24 minutes.
Gil will meet world number 12 Nicolas Almagro of Spain in the second round.
Florian Mayer ousts Ivo Karlovic 6-4, 7-6(6)
Florian Mayer of Germany defeated Ivo Karlovic of Croatia in straight sets 6-4, 7-6(6) to advance to the second round. The German took 1 hour and 14 minutes to undo his opponent.
Mayer broke his opponent in the third game and consolidated on the single break of serve, winning the set 6-4. He hit a single ace and the same number of double fault. Mayer delivered 50 per cent of the first serves, winning a whopping 92 per cent of the
points on them. The German converted 1 of the 2 break points he received in the first set.
In the second set, none of the two players was able to break other’s serve, forcing a tie-break. Karlovic’s powerful serves were handled really well by Mayer as the German clinched the mini-break late in the tie-break to win it 8-6. The right handed hit
a single ace and 61 per cent of the first serves in the second set. He converted 90 per cent of the first serves into points in the second set.
Mayer is drawn to face Spanish Albert Montanes, ranked 22nd in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, in the next round. This will be the first meeting between these two.
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