Go Soeda surprises Karol Beck in first round – PTT Thailand Open 2011
Another surprising result was seen in the opening round of the PTT Thailand Open, as the world number 73, Karol Beck of Slovakia, suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Japanese qualifier, Go Soeda, on Wednesday afternoon.
The 126th ranked Japanese laboured for two hours and fifty six minutes to wrap up the three-set thriller 3-6, 7-6(0), 7-6(4), to book a place in the second round of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World
Tour 250 event.
The nail biting contest was staged on the indoor hard courts of the Impact Arena, in Bangkok, Thailand, with high quality tennis action from both contestants. The 29-year-old Slovak was off to a brilliant start in the match, grabbing
the opener with ease to get the upper hand earlier but then it was an all-Japanese show to follow. Soeda displayed his amazing to reel off the last two sets of the contest to clinch a hard-fought victory.
Beck’s 11 thudding aces and 46 first serve points in the matchup went all in vain, as the crafty Japanese manoeuvred his way through the contest to come out as the winner. Soeda converted 51 out of his 72 first serve points, coughing
five double faults and nailing two serve breaks en route to victory. His Slovak opponent stung three break point conversions in the competition but Soeda took the last two sets in tie breaker rounds to dispose him of.
The unseeded Slovakian broke Soeda in the fourth game of the matchup to lead 4-1 and then after an exchange of serve breaks from both sides, Beck went on to bag the set at 6-3. Soeda regrouped in the next set and held his serve
in all games to move neck-to-neck with his opponent. After both contestants failed to register a serve break in the second set, a tie breaker round was enforced at 6-6 and the Japanese qualifier reeled off seven points in a row to seize the set at 7-6(0).
Soeda kept his momentum in the final set as well and eventually claimed victory after winning another tie breaker round at 7-6(4).
Soeda will take on the unseeded German competitor, Tobias Kamke, in the second round to fight for a place in the quarter-finals of the PTT Thailand Open. The German stunned everyone in the opening round, when he defeated the eighth
seeded Spaniard, Pablo Andujar, to force his way to the second round of the tournament.
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