Leonardo Mayer surprises Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second round – French Open 2012
World number 62, Leonardo Mayer of Argentina, played brilliantly to stun 24th seed, Philipp Kohlschreiber, in straight sets 7-6(5), 7-6(4), 7-5 in the second round at the French Open in Paris on Thursday.
Mayer and Kohlschreiber put on a serving display in the first set, as neither of them dropped it till the end, levelling the score at 6-6 and taking it to a tie-breaker. The Argentinean grabbed a 2-0 lead at the start and made
the most of it to win 7-6(5).
The 25-year-old bombarded six aces on his opponent and kept his first serve percentage at 69, winning 24 of the 27 points on them in the opener. On the other hand, Kohlschreiber hit a couple of aces and 65 percent of the first
serves, converting 22 of the 30 of them into points.
Just like the first set, both of them held their serves throughout the second to take the score to 6-6 and force a tie-breaker. Mayer raced to a 4-1 lead and capitalised on it to triumph 7-6(4).
The Argentinean continued to serve exceptionally well, as he banged in four aces and 69 percent of the first serves, sealing 21 of the 24 points on them. The 6ft 2in tall fired 11 winners and won two of the four net approach points.
In comparison, Kohlschreiber hit seven winners and committed 11 unforced errors.
Mayer and Kohlschreiber won their serve in the first three games of the third set to take the score to 2-1 in the former’s favour. The German clinched first break of the match in the fourth game and consolidated on it to move ahead
4-1. Though, Mayer snatched three consecutively after that to square off the score at 4-4. The Argentinean went ahead 6-5 by hitting a blow to his opponent in the 11th game. Mayer saved five break points in the 12th and captured it 7-5.
The Argentinean matched his first set’s performance of six aces but he also committed a couple of double faults this time. The Buenos Aires, Argentina resident hit 62 percent of the first serves and claimed 22 of the 32 points
on them. The right-hander amazingly saved 10 of the 11 break points he faced and converted two of the four he received in the third set.
Mayer will now lock horns with 12th seed, Nicolas Almagro of Spain, in the round of 32. Almagro defeated Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets in the second round.
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