Michael Llodra rallies past Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in round one – French Open 2012
Local star, Michael Llodra, took down the Spanish contestant, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, in a four-set mouth-watering match at the Roland Garros 2012 on Monday. He summed up a 7-6(5), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory against the world number 72 to labour into the second
round of this major red clay court tournament taking place in Paris, France.
The French contender was broken once but cashed in three out of 15 break chances to earn the glory. He manipulated a better first serve share of 62 per cent as opposed to the Spaniard’s 46 per cent and tremendously availed 57 out of 72 points on it. Llodra
put a cherry on the match by hitting 12 aces and smashing 52 winners.
Both stars showed exceptional skills and abilities in the opening set. The French committed more unforced errors but was able to keep his entire serves. However, he failed to seek any break chance and took the set to a tie-breaker. Llodra dominated in it
and clinched the opener with a 7-6(5) score line.
Ranked 57th in the South African Airways ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Rankings, Llodra kept momentum running towards the second set. After Garcia-Lopez held his serve in the third game, the French unleashed flurry of forehands
and went on a five-game tear. He was never challenged with any barrier and cashed in both break opportunities to bag the set with a 6-2 win.
The La Roda native on the other side of net got in action in the third set. He spectacularly fended off all seven breakpoints he faced and got the breakthrough in the eighth game to pull out the victory with a 6-3 score line.
The left-handed Frenchman re-gained his strength in the fourth set. He earned the critical break in the second game and jumped to a 3-0 lead. Llodra then plucked his remaining serves with poise and sealed the set by winning six games to three.
The in-form French will next confront the seventh seed, Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic. The Czech number one stomped over Israel’s Dudi Sela with a breadstick to set up this epic encounter.
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