Marinko Matosevic rallies past James Ward into the round of 16 – AEGON International 2012
Australia’s Marinko Matosevic, ranked 82nd in the world, survived the loss of opening set to outlast world number 173, James Ward of Great Britain, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the first round at the AEGON International in Eastbourne,
England on Monday.
It took the Australian one hour and 58 minutes to get past his fighting opponent.
Ward was first to take lead, as he snatched a break in the very first game of the match and held his next serve to take a 2-0 lead. The Brit sustained his lead throughout the opener and closed it 6-4.
The 25-year-old hit a single ace and did not commit any double fault, having a low first serve percentage of 47 and converting nine of the 15 of them into points. Ward gave a very good performance on the second ones, winning 13
of the 17 points. The Brit did not face any break point and converted the only one he received in the opener.
After getting surprised in the first set, Matosevic gave an amazing performance in the second, as he grabbed opening five games, racing to a 5-0 lead. Ward managed to hold his serve and reduce the trail to 1-5 but he could not
shorten it further, losing the following one and going down 1-6.
Matosevic banged in two aces and 61 percent of the first deliveries in the second set, claiming 11 of the 14 points on them. The Australian won most of the points on the second serves and returns, as he grabbed seven of the nine
and five of the eight of them respectively. The right-hander put away the only break threat he came across and availed two of the three chances he had.
In the final set, Matosevic and Ward made a stable start, as they did not lose their serve in the first eight games to square off the score at 4-4. The Australian captured two in a row after that and sealed it 6-4.
The 26-year-old pounded four aces and 66 percent of the first deliveries in the decider. He had a first serve percentage of 66 and pocketed 16 of the 27 points on them. The Melbourne, Australia resident also did a good job on the
second returns, as he converted five of the 10 of them into points.
Matosevic is drawn to play the top seed, Richard Gasquet of France, in the second round.
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