Igor Andreev outplays Mischa Zverev in the opening round – Suisse Open Gstaad 2011
World number 78 Igor Andreev of Russia cruised past world number 114 Mischa Zverev of Germany in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of Credit Agricole Suisse Open at the Credit Agricole Arena in Gstaad, Switzerland on Monday. The Russian took just
an hour and nine minutes to beat his opponent in a one-sided contest.
Andreev and Zverev held their serve in the first seven games to take the score to 4-3 in favour of the former. The Russian broke Zverev in the eighth game and served out the set in the next game, clinching the set 6-3.
The Moscow resident delivered 56 percent of the first serves and a single ace in the first set. Andreev converted fifteen of the eighteen first serves and eight of the fourteen second serves into points in the first set. On the other hand, Zverev kept his
first serve percentage at 59 percent, winning 69 percent of the first service points and 45 percent of the second service points in the first set. The German lost one of the five break points he faced in the opening set.
Carrying the winning momentum into the second set, the Russian took an early lead, breaking Zverev in the third game and holding his serve in the next game to take a 3-1 lead. Andreev broke again in the fifth game and consolidated on the double break of
serve to claim the set 6-2.
The Russian dropped his first serve percentage as he hit just 44 percent of the first serves. However, he returned very well, grabbing a whopping ten of the nineteen first return points in the second set.
Andreev is a two-time former finalist in Gstaad. In his debut appearance here, the Russian upset the then world number 8 Rainer Schuettler of Germany in three sets 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(6) to reach the final. He lost to Roger Federer in four sets 2-6, 3-6, 7-5,
3-6 in the title match. Andreev matched his best performance after a gap of four years when he was beaten by Romanian Victor Hanescu in straight sets 3-6, 4-6 in the final. The Russian advanced to the last four in 2007 and 2009, losing to Andreas Seppi and
Thomaz Bellucci respectively. However, in his last appearance here, Andreev was thrashed by Daniel Gimeno-Traver in straight sets 2-6, 4-6 in the quarterfinals.
The Russian is drawn to play either Marcel Granollers of Spain or wild card entrant Stephane Bohli of Switzerland in the second round.
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