Julien Benneteau dumps Carlos Berlocq to reach round two – Proton Malaysian Open 2012
Seventh seed, Julien Benneteau from France, got the better of the Argentinean challenger, Carlos Berlocq, in straight sets at the Proton Malaysian Open 2012 on Tuesday. He juggled up a 7-6(2), 6-3 victory against the 29-year-old to power into the second
round at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 Series event taking place in Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The French seed showed exceptional skills to outrun Berlocq in their second encounter at this indoor hard court event. He not only avenged his loss at the Roland Garros five years ago but also levelled the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head Series by 1-1 against the
world number 49.
Benneteau assertively entered the Putra Indoor Stadium. He drew the first blood in the fourth game and took a 3-1 lead. Apart from losing his serve in the very next game, the French broke his opponent’s serve again and jumped to a 5-2 lead. He lost his edge
again in the ninth game but remain in contention as he plucked his remaining serves with poise. The set went to a tie-breaker where the French cruised to a 5-1 lead before closing out the opener with a 7-6(2) success.
The Swiss resident maintained his intensity in the proceeding set. He got the desiderated break in the third game and jumped to a 3-1 lead. Benneteau held his remaining serves with self-assurance and cashed another break chance in the last game, eventually
sealing the set by winning six games to three.
Ranked 34th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Benneteau spilled fewer unforced errors and clobbered a higher first serve share of 76 per cent as opposed to their rival’s 52 per cent. He also amazingly marked 33 out of 44 points
on it and finished the match with 69 points.
Next in queue for Benneteau is the Australian challenger, Matthew Ebden, who crushed the Russian wild card entrant, Philip Davydenko, with a bagel to reach this spot.
The Spanish contender, Albert Ramos, also stole the limelight later that day. He overpowered the Austrian qualifier, Julian Knowle, with a breadstick to progress.
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