Julien Benneteau dispenses out Matthias Bachinger to reach quarterfinal – Suisse Open Gstaad 2011
Unseeded in the tournament, Julien Benneteau of France won his singles encounter against world 89, Matthias Bachinger of Germany in the second round of Credit Agricole Suisse Open Gstaad, at the Credit Agricole Arena in Gstaad,
Switzerland, on Thursday afternoon.
Rated at number 111 in the world rankings, Benneteau exhibited his clay-court tennis far better than his rankings suggest. The Frenchman wrapped up victory in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, to advance to the quarter-finals of the ATP
(Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 tournament by disposing of Bachinger in the most convincing manner. The German competitor valiantly for one hour and twenty two minutes of play but his opponent came out to be the better man in the end.
Bachinger served very well, reaching 60 per cent accuracy and firing nine aces in the matchup but the belligerent French cracked three serve breaks in the game to outplay him. Benneteau dropped serve just once in the matchup and
successfully defended seven break points he faced from his rival.
The opening set was dominated by Benneteau for most of the time, with Bachinger struggling to get his eye in the game. The French banged almost 70 per cent of his serve on target and secured 18 out of 24 first serve points, while
his opponent followed him with 14 out of 18 points in the first set of the match. Benneteau took the upper hand in the opener early when he registered the first serve break of the day in the third game to lead 2-1. He continued with his aggressive tactics
in the rest of the set to sustain his lead in the game and reached set point in the 10th game. A powerful forehand winner from the French racquet sealed the opening set at 6-4, with Bachinger suffering from a one-set deficit.
The drastic slump continued for the German in the following set as well, with Benneteau breaking in the third game again to get in to the lead. Bachinger registered his only break point of the matchup in the very next game to level
the scores but Benneteau snatched back the advantage immediately with a serve break to close out the contest at 6-4.
Benneteau’s victory over the German sends him in the quarter-final draws of the Suisse Open Gstaad, where he will face off against the fourth seeded Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco, for a place in the semis.
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