Juan Martin Del Potro bows out to Radek Stepanek in his opening brawl – Rogers Cup 2012
Olympics bronze medallist, Juan Martin Del Potro, was underplayed by the Czech star, Radek Stepanek, in gruelling straight sets at the Rogers Cup 2012 on Wednesday. He suffered a 4-6, 6-7(5) loss at the hands of the world number 40 in the second round at
this Emirates Airline US Open Series event taking place in Toronto.
The sixth seeded Argentine failed to find his rhythm on hard courts after achieving success at the London Olympics last week. He was edged out against the 33-year-old after trailing in this one hour and 50-minute marathon.
"I came here Monday night," the disappointed Argentinean stated after exiting from his opening match at this outdoor hard court tournament. "It's not easy to play after a big effort in the Olympics, but I tried anyway. Now I need time to recover my body
if I want to stay healthy. It's a fantastic tournament here in Toronto. I would like to play more matches, but Radek played better and was a good winner today."
As a result, Stepanek not only avenged his loss at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells last circuit but also improved to a 3-1 lead in the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head series against the Argentine.
The Argentinean number one made a drastic entry at this Masters 1000 event held in Rexall Centre. He suffered the first blow in the opening game and fell at 0-2. Despite snatching his break back in the eighth game, Del Potro bear another shock in the very
next game and consequently recorded a 4-6 loss.
Ranked eighth in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Del Potro re-focused in the following set and got the coveted break in the second game to go 2-0 up. Regardless of losing his serve in the very next game, he cashed in another break chance
in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead. However, the Argentine not only lost his serve in the seventh game but trailed in the tie-breaker, ultimately enduring a 6-7(5) defeat.
Summing up the underdog’s performance, Stepanek outshined the seed completely. He fired nine aces and clobbered a better first serve share of 61 per cent as opposed to his rival’s 52 per cent.
As a result, the high flying Czech set up a third round clash against the former world number two, Tommy Haas. The German veteran stunned France’s Gilles Simon in straight sets to progress in Toronto.
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