James Blake rallies past Marcos Baghdatis into second round – Western & Southern Open 2011
Wild card entrant James Blake of USA fought back after losing the first set to beat former world number 8 and 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in three sets 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the opening round at the Western
and Southern Open in Cincinnati on Sunday. The American needed an hour and 48 minutes to claim victory.
Blake and the Cypriot held their serve until the eighth game when Baghdatis succeeded in breaking the American to take a 5-3 lead in the first set. The Cypriot held his serve in the next game to claim the set 6-3.
Baghdatis relied on his huge serves to fire four aces and win seventeen of the 22 first service points in the opening set. The Cypriot, however, had a lacklustre second serve performance as he committed a couple of double faults
and converted just five of the eleven second serves into points. The 26-year-old returned better than his opponent as he won five of the sixteen first return points compared to five of the 22 by the American. Baghdatis saved the one break point he faced and
capitalised on one of the five break point opportunities he created on Blake’s serve in the first set.
Baghdatis and Blake held theirs serve in the first seven games of the second set to take the score to 4-3 in the latter’s favour. The American won his opponent’s serve in the eighth game and consolidated on it, grabbing the set
6-3.
The six feet and one inch tall served averagely as he delivered 61 percent of the first serves, winning sixteen of the 23 first service points and eight of the fifteen second service points in the second set. On the other hand,
Baghdatis could not serve well, committing three double faults and hitting just 50 percent of the first serves in the second set.
Baghdatis came roaring into the final set, breaking the American in the second game to take a 2-0 lead. However, it was all Blake show after that as he bagged six games in a row, breaking the Cypriot three times to seal the set
6-2.
The American was unable to serve up to his standards as he delivered a meagre 41 percent of the first serves, clinching just six of the eleven points on the first serve in the third set. However, the 31-year-old converted five
of the eight break points he received on Baghdatis’ serve to capture the set 6-2.
Blake will meet either Italian Fabio Fognini or Viktor Troicki of Serbia in the second round.
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