Olivier Rochus upsets Roberto Bautista-Agut to reach main draw – Valencia Open 2012
Belgian contender, Olivier Rochus, dumped the qualifying second seed, Roberto Bautista-Agut, in straight sets at the Valencia Open 2012 on Sunday. He nudged up a 6-2, 7-5 victory against the Spaniard to progress into the main draw at this ATP (Association
of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 Series event held in Valencia, Spain.
Seeded seventh in the qualifying event, Olivier Rochus was broken once but cashed half of the eight break chances to formulate this victory. Battling each other for the first time, Rochus comfortably advanced into the first round at this indoor hard court
event.
The 31-year-old made a convincing entry at the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències. He went on a four-game rampage before Bautista-Agut could come on the score sheet. The Belgian then swiped his remaining serves and clicked the opener with a 6-2 win. He superbly
warded off all 10 breakpoints he came across and cashed two out of four break chances to inch towards the glory.
Ranked 104th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Rochus maintained consistency in his game in the proceeding set. He drew the first blood in the third game and jumped to a 3-1 lead. Apart from levelling the scores in the 10th
game, the Belgian got the breakthrough in the very next game and clicked the set with a 7-5 win.
On the whole, Rochus produced a lower first serve share of 58 per cent as compared to his rival’s 67 per cent but impressively marked 37 out of 51 points on it. He ended the match with 76 points and set his course towards his third career title.
Next challenge for Rochus is the top seed, David Ferrer from Spain, in the opening round.
The qualifying eight seed, Ivan Dodig, crushed the German challenger, Daniel Brands, with a breadstick to progress. He smoothly plucked his entire serves and capitalised on three out of seven break chances to manipulate a 6-1, 6-4 victory. The Croat struck
seven aces and finished the match with 65 points.
Dodig will square off against the German number one, Philipp Kohlschreiber, in the main draw.
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