Guillermo Garcia-Lopez edges past Bobby Reynolds in the final qualifier – Sony Ericsson Open 2012
Seeded third in the qualifying competition, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez dumped the local star, Bobby Reynolds, in straight sets at the Sony Ericsson Open 2012 on Tuesday. He penned down a 7-6(1), 6-4 victory over the 13th
seed to book a place in the main draw at this hard court event held at Key Biscayne in Miami.
Garcia-Lopez fended off early resistance to pull out the match in an almost two hour-long marathon. After advancing into the main draw, the Spaniard is now bidding for his third ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) career
title at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park.
The Spaniard thundered into this Masters 1000 event and jumped to a 3-0 lead after capitalising on a break chance in the second game. He then held his composure and swiped in remaining serves until the seventh game when he gifted
away his serve. However, Garcia-Lopez remained calm and kept his following two serves to enforce a tie-breaker. The Spanish veteran moved his opponent around the court and pulled out the opener with an assuring 7-6(1) win.
Ranked 82nd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Garcia-Lopez assertively entered the following set and held his serve in the second game to level the scores at 1-1. He maintained his intensity and kept
remaining serves without facing any hindrance. The Spaniard cashed in the lone break chance in the ninth game to eventually clinch the set with a 6-4 score line.
Regardless of spilling more unforced errors and six double faults, the 28-year-old nudged up almost an equal first serve share and tremendously availed 35 out of 45 points on it.
Next in line for Garcia-Lopez is a local qualifier, Rajeev Ram, who upset fourth seeded Matthias Bachinger in straight sets to set-up this opening round battle.
The American rising star, Ram, plucked his entire serves without facing any barrier. He then broke the German’s serve three times to formulate a stunning 6-2, 6-4 success. The 28-year-old hammered six ferocious aces and produced
a better first serve share of 65 per cent as compared to the seed’s 55 per cent.
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