Juan Martin Del Potro overcomes Olivier Rochus in the second round – Wimbledon Championships 2011
Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro, ranked 21st in the world, came back strong after losing the first set to beat world number 73 Olivier Rochus of Belgium in four sets 6-7(7), 6-1, 6-0, 6-4 in the second round of Wimbledon
Championships at the All England Club in London on Thursday. It took Del Potro two hours and 38 minutes to oust his opponent.
Del Potro and Rochus could not create any break point opportunity in the first set, equalising the score at 6-6 and forcing a tie-break. The Belgian managed to grab a late mini-break in the tie-break, claiming it 9-7.
Del Potro fired 66 percent of the first serves and fourteen aces in the first set. Rochus could not hit any ace but the Belgian won twelve of the fifteen net approach points in the opening set. The right-handed hit eight winners
and committed the same number of unforced errors in the first set.
After losing the opening set by closest of margins, Del Potro fought back in the second set and lost only one game, breaking his opponent twice and winning the set 6-1.
The Argentinean did not have a good first serve percentage as he managed to deliver a meagre 47 percent of the first serves in the second set. However, he had an amazing conversion rate, capturing 100 percent of the first service
points and 89 percent of the second service points in the second set. The right-handed bombarded nineteen winners and made just five unforced errors in the second set.
Del Potro was almost flawless in the third set as he did not allow the Belgian to claim even a single game, breaking his opponent thrice to grab the set 6-0.
The Argentinean improved his serve drastically as he raised his first serve percentage to 86 percent and did not lose even a single point on the first serve in the third set. The six feet and six inches tall also dominated his
opponent’s service games, winning an incredible 59 percent of the receiving points in the third set. Del Potro converted three of the four break points he received and did not face any break point on his own serve in the third set.
The 2009 US Open champion needed a single break of serve in the fourth set to win it 6-4. The Argentinean hit sixteen winners and five aces in the fourth set. Del Potro played quite well at the net as he clinched 86 percent of
the net approach points in the fourth set. The Tandil resident capitalised on one of the five break point opportunities he created on Rochus’ serve in the fourth set.
Del Potro, seeded 24th at the event, will take on fifteenth seed Gilles Simon of France in the round of 32.
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