Kevin Anderson downs Federico Delbonis in the second round – Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell 2012
Kevin Anderson, seeded 13th in the draw, needed two tie-breakers to beat Federico Delbonis of Argentina in twin sets 7-6(5), 7-6(5) in the round of 32 at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell in Spain on Wednesday. The South
African took an hour and 55 minutes to topple Delbonis and reach the last 16.
In the first set, none of the two players was able to break serve untill the end, squaring off the score at 6-6 and taking it to a tie-breaker. Anderson started off quite well and raced to a 4-1 lead, capitalising on it to win
7-6(5).
The South African, who is known for his huge serves, banged in three aces and one double fault. The 6ft 8in tall performed to his reputation, as he put in 78 percent of the first deliveries and won amazingly 26 of the 28 points
on them. The Johannesburg, South Africa resident did not come across any break threat but failed to avail the three chances he created in the opener.
Anderson struck in the very first game of the second set and held his next serve to grab a 2-0 lead. The South African was closing on towards the finish line but a breakthrough by Delbonis evened out the score at 4-4. Both players
held their serve in the next four games to take it to 6-6, forcing another tie-breaker. In a similar fashion to the first set, Anderson began brilliantly and built a 5-1 lead. The Argentinean won four consecutive points to level the score at 5-5 but Anderson
then grabbed two in a row to seal it 7-6(5).
The South African fired a couple of aces and 66 percent of the first serves, securing 20 of the 27 points on them in the decider. The right-hander also performed impressively on the second deliveries and returns, capturing seven
of the 14 and eight of the 16 points on them respectively.
Anderson is drawn to take on ninth seed, Fernando Verdasco of Spain, in the third round. The Spaniard thrashed Belgian, Steve Darcis, in straight sets 6-3, 6-1 in the previous match.
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