Mardy Fish break downs to Albano Olivetti in round two– Open 13 Marseille 2012
World number eight, Mardy Fish, bowed out to the 20-years-old French contestant, Albano Olivetti, in the second round clash of Open 13 tournament. Fish struggled with the stamina; survived an hour and 48 minutes before the French youngster won a gruelling
three-setter 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 on Thursday.
It was one of the majestic upsets of the day with the 388th ranked contestant able to power down the second seed participant. Both tennis stars were squaring-off for the first time in their professional careers. The French was bidding for his
maiden career ATP title and had nothing to lose. He fought with a clear mind and that helped him to play his natural game.
The opening set was a bit sloppy with both players trying to capitalise on their serves and not pressing hard on their rival’s serve. First seven games passed by without any breakthrough with scores progressing to 4-3 in favour of the French.
Suddenly, Olivetti dismantled the concentration with a slight change in his game style. He broke the second seed’s serve in the eighth game and successful held his serve to gobble up the opening set triumph.
Nothing changed for the American in the start of the second set as well. He lost the opening serve game to his opponent who doubled the lead with a comprehensive serve hold. Fish held his nerves and fought back with a breakthrough in the sixth game; eventually
levelling the scores at 3-3. The momentum swirled in his favour and he pressurised his opponent. The 30-year-old won another breakpoint in the eighth game and subsequently registered a 6-3 victory to level the set scores.
The final set was all about gathering the stamina and staying in the contest by holding the serves. The aging factor played its part and the American was almost drained by the end of the second set. He started the final set in dismal fashion and gifted away
his serve in the second game to go 3-0 down.
Olivetti on the other hand was under no pressure at all from his opponent. He easily plucked in remaining serves; enabling himself to inch closer to a monumental upset. The 20-year-old finished the match with a couple of aces on trot and progressed to the
quarter-final stage of the tournament.
He will square-off against the left-handed compatriot, Michael Llodra, who also stunned a seeded player to set-up this clash. He smacked 19 aces and cashed in three out of 10 break opportunities to seal the match with a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(5) success.
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