Kevin Anderson tumbles Paolo Lorenzi in opening round – BB&T Atlanta Open 2012
Fifth seeded Kevin Anderson took down the Italian contender, Paolo Lorenzi, in straight sets at the BB&T Atlanta Open 2012 on Monday. He nudged up a 6-4, 6-3 victory against the 30-year-old to secure a place in the round of 16 at this outdoor hard court tournament taking place in Johns Creek, United States.
The South African number one, Anderson, displayed top notch performance to outclass Lorenzi in their first meeting. After earning the limelight in almost one and a half hour, Anderson not only edged in the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head series by 1-0 against the world number 89 but also inched closer towards his second year-to-date title. The South African conquered the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships in February.
Anderson convincingly entered the Atlantic Station and plucked his opening serve with poise. He continued hitting angled shots from his box of tricks and bagged remaining serves after brushing off both breakpoints he faced. The South African got the breakthrough in the last game and clicked the opener with a 6-4 win.
Ranked 33rd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Anderson kept momentum sailing into the follow-up set and got the coveted break in the fourth game to go 4-1 up. He held his remaining serves after blocking the lone breakpoint he faced and sealed the set by winning six games to three.
All in all, the higher ranked contestant was clearly the better player on the court. He smashed seven aces and clobbered a better first serve share of 64 per cent as compared to the Italian’s 52 per cent. Anderson also impressively availed 28 out of 37 points on it and converted two out of five break chances to his advantage.
Anderson will next confront the winner of an all-American match between Michael Russell and Alex Kuznetsov.
The Luxembourgian star, Gilles Muller, also stole the show later that day. He nudged up a 7-6(5), 6-4 victory against Australia’s Marinko Matosevic in one hour and 51 minutes. Muller lost his serve twice but capitalised on three out of eight break chances to pocket the match.
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