Mardy Fish prevails over Go Soeda in the first round – US Open 2012
Seeded 23rd in the draw, USA’s Mardy Fish put away the challenge of his spirited Japanese opponent, Go Soeda, in straight sets 7-6(3), 7-6(2), 6-3 in the opening round of the US Open in New York on Monday.
Fish and Soeda exchanged a break of serve in the first set to square off the score at 6-6 and take it to a tie-breaker. The American number two captured a couple of mini-breaks and capitalised on both of them to close it 7-6(3).
The world number 25 banged in four aces and made a single double fault in the first set. The California resident was erratic on his ground strokes, as he hit just 12 winners and committed 19 unforced errors.
There were more breaks of serve in the second set, as both players struck twice in the 12 games to take the score to 6-6 and force a tie-breaker. Though, Fish played even better in this one than the opener, as he allowed his Japanese
opponent to claim just two points till the end, grabbing it 7-6(2).
The American star once again committed one double fault but this time he fired just three aces. The 30-year-old was almost flawless on the net, capturing seven of the nine volley points in the second set.
After winning opening two in tie-breakers, Fish hit a blow to Soeda in the very first game of the third set and held his subsequent serve to attain a 2-0 lead. The following six went with serves, taking the score to 5-3 in favour
of the American player. Soeda failed to hold at that moment and threw away the set 3-6.
Fish pounded five aces and did not commit even a single double fault this time. The 6ft 2in tall bombarded 17 winners and made just nine double faults in the third set.
The American contender has hired the coaching services of Bahaman player, Mark Knowles. During the post match press conference, he said, "He's helped me a ton. Maybe none more evident than tonight when I lost my serve in both of
those sets to serve it out and still was able to mentally focus back and realise that I haven't just lost the set, he's just gotten even in the set so there's still opportunities to win the set. In times past maybe I would have struggled with that scenario,
especially twice in a row."
Fish will take on the former world number three, Nikolay Davydenko, in the second round.
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