Juan Martin Del Potro defeats Michael Llodra in the opener – ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament 2012
World number 10, Juan Martin Del Potro, battled past Michael Llodra, ranked 47thin the world, in three sets 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4 in the first round at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam on Thursday. The former
world number four had to bring out his best to beat the Frenchman in two hours and 26 minutes.
Llodra and Del Potro won their serve in the first six games of the opening set to equalise the score at 3-3. The Argentine made the breakthrough in the seventh game to go up 4-3 and consolidated on the single break to win the set
at 6-4. Del Potro delivered two aces and 76 percent of the first serves in the opener.
The second set saw both players failing to break each other’s serves, squaring off the score at 6-6. Llodra claimed two early mini-breaks to take a 4-0 lead in the tie-break. The French maintained the advantage until the end and
sealed it 7-3. Llodra improved his serve, putting in 63 percent of them. The 31-year-old won 81 percent of the first service points and saved all the three break threats he came across.
Del Potro and Llodra held their serves until the tenth game of the decider, when the Frenchman lost his serve and the final set 4-6. The 6ft and 6in tall, Del Potro, was almost flawless with the serve. He fired three aces and sealed
an amazing 16 of the 17 first service points. Del Potro succeeded in converting the only break chance he received in the third set.
The Argentinean was meeting Llodra for the second time. Del Potro improved his head-to-head record against Llodra to 2-0. In their only previous meeting, the Argentinean crushed Llodra in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in the first
round at the French Open in 2009.
Del Potro said, while sharing his views about Llodra’s style of play, "Llodra has a very difficult game for me. He made a lot of serve and volley, drop shots and slices and it's not easy, that way, for me. But I was really focused
in the last game of the match, making two passing shots with my backhand, and that gave me confidence for my next match."
The Argentinean will meet world number 105, Karol Beck of Slovakia, in the second round. Beck prevailed over world number 56 Philipp Petzschner in straight sets 7-6(6), 6-3 in the opener.
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