Mardy Fish dismisses Feliciano Lopez to reach round two – Western and Southern Open 2012
Seeded 10th in this event, Mardy Fish got the better of the Spanish contender, Feliciano Lopez, in straight sets at the Western and Southern Open 2012 on Tuesday. He notched up a 6-2, 6-3 victory against the left-handed Spaniard to charge into
the second round at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters 1000 event held in Ohio, United States.
The local seed proved his class at this Emirates Airline US Open Series event after triumphing over Lopez in their eighth encounter. After stealing the limelight in one hour and 22 minutes, Fish improved to a 5-3 record in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series
against the world number 31 and advanced into the round of 32.
"I played very well today," stated the delighted American after bagging the match. "He's one of the most dangerous players that we have on tour, especially unseeded at a tournament like this. This is a great surface for him, as well."
Fish entered the Lindner Family Tennis Center in high spirits. After Lopez kept his serve in the fourth game, the American unleashed his skills and wiped out the last four games in a row. He brilliantly dusted away all three breakpoints he faced and cashed
in two out of seven break chances to seal the opener with a 6-2 win.
Currently ranked 20th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Fish maintained his intensity in the follow-up set. He quickly swiped his entire serves without encountering any barrier. The American got the breakthrough in the fourth
game and eventually clinched the set with a 6-3 score line.
The former Top 10 star smashed 11 aces to dominate in this epic battle. He also clobbered a better first serve share of 57 per cent as compared to his rival’s 42 per cent and amazingly marked 30 out of 38 points on it.
Next in queue for Fish is the Argentinean challenger, Carlos Berlocq, who eased past Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo in straight sets to set up this meeting. The Argentine was broken twice but capitalised on four out of six break chances to register a 7-5, 6-3
success.
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