Go Soeda ousts Kamil Capkovic to reach the final showdown – 2012 Green World ATP Challenger
Top seeded Go Soeda edged past the Slovakian rising star, Kamil Capkovic, in straight sets at the 2012 Green World ATP Challenger on Saturday. He manipulated a 7-5, 6-3 victory against the world number 224 to advance into the title-round at this hard court
tournament taking place in Pingguo, China.
The 27-year-old stayed on track to defend his title after trashing Capkovic in an hour and 41-minute clash. Meeting for the third time in the challenger tour events this circuit, the Japanese maintained his unbeaten record and successfully secured a spot
in the final round.
Ranked 77th in the South African Airways ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Rankings, Soeda made a shaky start and suffered the first blow in the opening game, eventually falling to 0-2. However, he snatched his break back in
the fourth game and then exchanged two serve breaks to level the scores at 4-4. Later, the Japanese held remaining serves and got the breakthrough in the last game, sealing the opener by winning seven games to five.
Soeda carried his momentum into the following set and slid his serve in the first game to take the initial lead. The Japanese then blocked all three breakpoints he faced to keep his remaining serves. He converted a break chance to his advantage in the eighth
game and clinched the set with a 6-3 score line.
Summing up the Japanese’s performance, Soeda showed flawless skills in the match. He produced a better first serve share of 66 per cent as opposed to the Slovak’s 59 per cent and brilliantly marked 27 out of 42 points on it. Soeda also hammered six aces
and committed fewer unforced errors, which led him clinch the match.
Soeda has not lost a single match at this event. He tumbled over India’s Vishnu Vardhan and Australia’s Samuel Groth to enter the final eight. In the quarter-final battle, the Japanese dumped seventh seeded Benjamin Mitchell in straight sets to face Capkovic.
Next in queue for the highest ranked contender of the tournament is the second seed, Malek Jaziri. The Tunisian was leading 6-1, 1-0 when his opponent, Ukraine’s Denys Molchanov, was forced to retire. Jaziri broke his rival’s serve three times before pulling
out this retirement victory in 34 minutes. He also produced a better first serve share of 67 per cent as opposed to the Ukrainian’s 58 per cent and availed 13 out of 16 points on it.
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