James Blake defeats Benjamin Becker, through to the second round of Delray Beach tournament
James Blake of the United Sates won his first round encounter against seventh seed German, Benjamin Becker at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships on Monday.
The unseeded American outplayed his opponent 7-5 and 6-4, qualifying for the second round of the event.
In a fairly poised contest, the American got the better of his opponent throughout the match. The first serve percentage was reasonable for both of the players, but the approach towards the game was the only critical difference between the two players. Blake
appeared more aggressive towards the game, while the German was more concerned with his defensive strategies.
Blake crafted five breaking opportunities in the contest and converted three of them to his advantage. The American saved two break points on his serve. The key feature in his success was his brilliant serve. Blake won 32 of the total 39 first serve points
and also nabbed 50 percent of his second serve points as well. His error count was also on the lower than his opponent’s and he coughed merely one double fault in the match.
Blake was extremely agile in his footwork and traced down the occasional drop shots from the opponent very well. He took the advantage of the sluggish start by the German to exert pressure on his rival.
The opener went on head-to-head as both players kept the score board moving on even terms. Blake used his powerful forehand to perfection and belted plenty of winners down the line.
Becker responded to Blake’s aggressive moves by cutting down his shots’ angles with his cross-court stroke play. The German put up a good resistance to his opponent but the experienced American kept winning his points at crucial occasions in the game.
A serve break from Becker put the unseeded American in the winning position in the first set. The set was headed towards toward a decisive tie breaker, but the momentum of the game shifted; after some sloppy shots from the German and a break point towards
the end of the set, Blake sealed out the opening set to his name 7-5.
Blake carried on his winning momentum in the second set and kept pushing the German to commit unforced errors. Blake concluded the contest after one hour and sixteen minutes, by winning the tenth game of the set 6-4.
Current world no. 144, Blake has appeared in the finals of the Delray Beach International Championships twice. The former world number four will be eyeing a tour victory this time around.
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