Julien Benneteau stuns Adrian Mannarino in the final round qualifiers – Cincinnati Open 2011
Another upset in the qualifying draws of Western and Southern Financial Group Masters, as the fifth seeded Frenchman, Adrian Mannarino, got disposed of by his fellow compatriot, Julien Benneteau, in the final round on Sunday afternoon.
Being a part of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters Series event, the competition took place on the outdoor hard courts of the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, near Cincinnati, United States. Benneteau took
one hour and twenty eight minutes of play to wrap up straight sets victory at 6-2, 7-5, to make it to the main draws of Cincinnati Masters.
The contest appeared fairly one-sided, with the fifth seeded French struggling all the way. Mannarino conceded a number of unforced-errors in the matchup, including six costly double faults on crucial situations of the matchup
to let his opponent away with victory. Benneteau’s 60 per cent precise serve earned him 29 out of 35 first serve points in the matchup, while his rival excelled over him with 37 out of 52 points to finish on the losing side in the end.
Benneteau crafted a total of 15 break chances in the matchup and converted just four out of them en route to victory. Mannarino cashed in one of his four break opportunities in the contest but it was sufficient to contain the fury
of Benneteau in the game. The fifth seed dropped his serve early in the opening set to trail 0-3 and letting Benneteau off to a flying start to the matchup.
Benneteau kept pressurising his opponent with his aggressive game play and precise shot making. The French reeled off 11 out of 13 first serve points and another serve break in the eighth game of the set closed out the opener for
Benneteau at 602 to give him the competitive edge over his fellow compatriot.
Mannarino upped his game in the following set and moved on neck-to-neck with his opponent to remain alive in the competition. He suffered another break point conversion from Benneteau but registered his first serve break of the
day in the eighth game to fritter away his advantage. Fourth serve break from the racquet of Benneteau proved decisive for the matchup, sealing victory for the French at 7-5 to send him in the main round of Cincinnati Masters. He will play his opening round
match against the Spanish competitor, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
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