James Blake eases past Fabio Fognini into 3rd round – Western & Southern Open 2011
Entering the tournament as a wildcard, James Blake of the United States won his clash against the unseeded Italian competitor, Fabio Fognini, in the second round of Western and Southern Financial Group Masters, on Tuesday.
The American wrapped up a convincing victory in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, in less than an hour to make it into the third round of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters Series event, being played at outdoor hard courts
at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, near Cincinnati, United States.
Ranked at number 38 in the world, Fognini hung in the contest for just 58 minutes of play before suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of 84th ranked American contestant. The Italian was completely dominated by
the sheer brilliance of Blake, who outplayed him in every segment of the game to charge in to the third round of Cincinnati Masters.
Blake took the game away from Fognini with his brilliant serve and points winning proficiency in the contest. The American delivered 73 per cent of his serve on target and reeled off 30 out of 37 first serve points in the cones,
along with seven cracking aces to clinch some un-fought points. The Italian followed Blake with 21 out of 30 first serve points but coughed a number of unforced errors in the game, including four crucial double faults, to let his opponent fly way with victory
in the end.
Blake took hold of the opening set by breaking Fognini in the very first game of the match to lead 2-0 early in the contest. The American secured 18 out of 23 first serve points in the opener and kept winning points on regularity
to keep the upper hand in the game. Fognini had his first break opportunity in the sixth game but was effectively denied by the brilliance of Blake to remain on the back foot in the set. He failed to recover from the damage done by the early serve break and
the American pocketed the first set at 6-4 to get one up in the matchup.
Blake shifted to his top gear in the second set and launched a series of forays upon Fognini, breaking the Italian’s serve twice consecutively to seal victory at 6-2. Blake earns a place in the third round o Cincinnati Masters
face the world number three, Roger Federer of Switzerland, for a place in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Tags: