Kevin Anderson strains past Guillermo Garcia-Lopez into round 2 – If Stockholm Open 2011
World number 31, Kevin Anderson of South Africa, had some real rough time before outplaying the 68th ranked Spaniard, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, in first round encounter of the If Stockholm Open on Tuesday evening.
The fifth seeded South African battled for two hours and eight minutes of play to conclude his straight sets victory at 7-6(1), 7-6(4), to make it to the second round of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 event.
Despite of a difference of 36 places in the rankings, Garcia-Lopez evenly matched the fifth seeded Anderson in every segment of the game. The Spaniard fought valiantly in both sets but it was Anderson’s class which beat him in the end. The South African kept his focus in the intense pressure situations of the tie breaker rounds and pocketed both sets to register a convincing victory over Garcia-Lopez.
It was Anderson’s second victory against the Spaniard in the current ATP season, as he also defeated him at the Madrid Masters earlier this year. The fifth seed recorded his 36th win of the running year in style and moved one step closer to the quarter-final draw of the If Stockholm Open.
Anderson’s 71 per cent precise serve included nine thudding aces and he secured 42 out of 57 first serve points en route to victory. The South African crafted 13 break opportunities in the matchup and converted three of them to match Garcia-Lopez’s three serve breaks in the contest. Both contestants moved neck-to-neck throughout the competition but some silly mistakes from the Spaniard at the most crucial moments of the game let him down in the end.
The action started off right from the opening game of the match, with Garcia-Lopez breaking the South African serve to register the first serve break of the day. Anderson retaliated in the very next game to bring him back on even terms and after another exchange of serve breaks later in the set, the opener entered a tie breaker round. Anderson raced through the decider to clinch the first set at 7-6(1) and then did the same in the second set tie breaker to conclude his victory in a comprehensive fashion.
Up next for Anderson in the second round is the German wildcard, Tommy Haas, for a place in the quarterfinal of the tournament. Haas won his opening round matchup against India’s Somdev Devvarman, beating him in straight sets 7-6(4), 6-4, to book a clash against Anderson in the round of 16.
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