Juan Martin Del Potro, Mikhail Kukushkin advance to the second round of Sony Ericsson Open
Juan Martin Del Potro beats Ricardo Mello 6-4, 6-4
World number 51 Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina cruised past world number 79 Ricardo Mello of Brazil in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 in the opening round at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.
The Argentine took the lead early in the first set as he broke Mello in the second game. However, the Brazilian did not take much time to break back as he broke Del Potro in the next game and held his own serve to level the score
at 2-2. The Argentine broke again in the tenth game to win the first set 6-4.
Del Potro converted both break points he received in the first set. The right handed could not save the only break point he faced in the opening set.
The Argentine broke his opponent once in the second set, winning it 6-4. The 22-year-old was good with his serves, hitting 2 aces and not committing any double fault. The 6 feet and 6 inches tall delivered 68 per cent of the first
serves and converted 82 per cent of them into points.
Del Potro said, “I served really well today, especially in the important moments. At 5-4 in the second set, I closed the match with my serve. I [hit] great serves and I’m still working on that.”
The Argentine will play world number 32 Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany in the second round. These two have met three times before, with Del Potro winning on all three occasions.
Mikhail Kukushkin defeats Jarkko Nieminen 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
World number 65 Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan came back from one set down to defeat world number 56 Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to get through to the second round.
Kukushkin did not have a good start to the match as he was broken in the fourth game of the opening set, losing it 3-6. The Kazakh managed to deliver just 48 per cent of the first serves in the first set, winning 62 per cent of
the points on them. The 23-year-old did not receive any break point in the opening set.
The Kazakh broke Nieminen twice in the second set to win it 6-3. He fired in 4 aces and a single double fault in the second set. The right handed did well to save 8 of the 9 break points he faced in the second set.
Kukushkin carried the winning momentum into the deciding set, breaking his opponent twice to win the set 6-2. The Kazakh capitalized on 3 of the 5 break chances he received in the final set.
Kukushkin is drawn to meet world number 21 Sam Querrey of USA in the second round. This will be the first meeting between these two.
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