Kevin Anderson outmuscles Sam Querrey in round two – US Men’s Clay Court Championship 2012
Seeded fifth in this clay court event, Kevin Anderson, tumbled over the local star, Sam Querrey, in troublesome three sets at the US Men’s Clay Court Championship 2012 on Thursday. He formulated a 7-6(3), 3-6, 7-6(2) victory against the world number 103
to labour into the quarter-finals at the River Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas.
The South African number one stayed focused throughout the match and eventually carved out the victory in two hours and 41 minutes in their eighth encounter. The players previously fought each other at the Miami Masters 1000 event last month and after earning
this victory, Anderson lowered the trail in the head-to-head series by 3-5 against the American.
The 25-year-old assertively entered this ATP World Tour 250 series event and held his serve in the opening game with poise. Anderson continued hammering massive groundstrokes down the line and after warding off all five breakpoints he faced, the South African
bagged remaining serves. However, he was unsuccessful in seeking any break opportunity, eventually enforcing a tie-breaker. The South African outclassed his opponent in it and clinched the opener with a 7-6(3) score line.
Querrey lifted his game in the following set and easily plucked his entire serves. He capitalised on one out of four break chances in the sixth game and sealed the equaliser by winning six games to three.
Ranked 33rd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Anderson got back on track in the final set. The South African failed to brush off the lone breakpoint he came across but cashed in one out of eight break chances to drag the set
to the tie-breaker. He unleashed his true colours in it and manipulated a 7-6(2) success.
Anderson will next confront the fourth seed, Juan Monaco, who trashed the Japanese star, Tatsuma Ito, in straight sets to occupy this position. The Argentinean wild card entrant fended off six out of seven breakpoints he encountered and converted four out
of 10 break opportunities, consequently finishing the deal with a 6-3, 6-3 success. He nudged up almost an equal first serve share but impressively clicked 23 out of 31 points on it.
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