Juan Martin Del Potro rallies past Go Soeda into the third round – Wimbledon Championships 2012
Former world number four, Juan Martin Del Potro, advanced to the last 32 by outlasting Japan’s Go Soeda in four sets 6-2, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 in the second round at the Wimbledon Championships in London on Thursday.
The Argentinean contestant took two hours and seven minutes to undo his opponent in a tough match.
Del Potro and Soeda began steadily, as they did not lose their serve in the first five games to take the score to 3-2 in the former’s favour. The Argentinean did not allow his opponent to win even a single game later on, breaking
him in the sixth and eighth game to win 6-2.
Currently ranked ninth in the world, Del Potro made a flying start in the second set, as he grabbed the opening three games to race to a 3-0 advantage. The Argentinean held his entire serves and did not allow Soeda to bounce back,
closing it 6-3.
After getting two sets to love down, Soeda started to play unbelievably brilliant tennis, as he hit winner after winner to grab first five games, moving ahead 5-0. Del Potro succeeded in avoiding embarrassment of a bagel, as he
held his serve in the sixth to open his account and reduce the trail to 1-5. The Japanese contender made sure that Del Potro does not win any more game, sealing it 6-1.
Soeda and Del Potro went neck-to-neck in the opening nine games of the fourth set, taking the score to 5-4 in favour of the Argentinean. Though, Del Potro made the decisive breakthrough in the following one and captured it 6-4.
The 6ft 6in tall, Del Potro, banged in a total of 12 aces but also committed five double faults in the match. The Argentinean played aggressive ground strokes, as he hit 37 winners and made 24 unforced errors. The right-hander
could not save both break points he faced but compensated that by converting four of the five he received.
Del Potro is now drawn to face another Japanese star, Kei Nishikori, in the third round.
Commenting on his next opponent, the Argentinean said, “It's going to be difficult match. I’ve known Kei since juniors. He [has] improved his game a lot. He had a fantastic year in 2011, and this season he's doing well. On grass,
he's dangerous. He's not a tall player, but he serves really well. Also, [he is] very consistent with [his] forehands and backhands, and also he's very, very fast.”
This will be the third meeting between Del Potro and Nishikori. The Argentinean leads his Japanese rival 2-0 in the head to head record.
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