Kevin Anderson topples Marinko Matosevic to claim title – Delray Beach Tennis Championships 2012
South African number one, Kevin Anderson, stomped over the Australian qualifier, Marinko Matosevic, in straight sets at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships 2012 on Sunday. He nudged up a 6-4, 7-6(2) victory over the world number 129 to lift the crown at this hard court event held in Delray Beach, United States.
Anderson showed top class performance at the Delray Beach Tennis Center and after warding off late resistance, he triumphed over the qualifier in their first encounter. As a result, the 25-year-old lifted his second career title and improved to a 2-1 record in the final showdowns.
"I think at the end, I felt I was mentally composed throughout [the tournament]. I didn’t let any patches of bad tennis affect my mindset [this week],” the high flying South African was quoted in the post-match conference. “It feels fantastic. It's my first one in the United States, which is great. I feel apart from South Africa, this is my new home. My wife Kelsey was here for the weekend."
Ranked 30th in the South African Airways ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Rankings, Anderson hammered powerful forehands and backhands from his arsenal of skills to earn the spotlight in the opening set. The South African failed to defend both breakpoints he came across but capitalised on three out of seven break opportunities, eventually bagging the opener with a 6-4 win.
The Johannesburg native kept momentum rolling into the following set and swiped in his entire serves without facing any difficulty. He also sought eight break chances but squandered all of them, ultimately enforcing a tie-breaker. Anderson outclassed the Aussie completely in it and clinched the set with a 7-6(2) score line.
Summing up the seventh seed’s performance at this ATP World Tour 250 series event, Anderson fired eight aces and committed fewer unforced errors. He ruled throughout the one hour 57-minutes match and ended it by clinching 89 points as opposed to the qualifier’s 75.
Matosevic on the other hand was unsuccessful in finding his rhythm. He clobbered an equal first serve share of 57 percent and impressively marked 31 out of 55 points on it. The Aussie cashed in both break chances but dusted away 12 out of 15 breakpoints he faced.
"My energy levels were pretty low," Matosevic commented. "I just couldn’t serve well today, but credit to Kevin. He was the better player today.”
This was Matosevic’s first ATP final appearance and was looking forward to become the second qualifier to grab a title this season.
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