Paul-Henri Mathieu overpowers Igor Andreev in round one – Credit Agricole Suisse Open 2012
Former world number 12, Paul-Henri Mathieu, tumbled the Russian challenger, Igor Andreev, in straight sets at the Credit Agricole Suisse Open 2012 on Monday. He nudged up a 6-3, 7-6(4) victory against the world number 88 to secure a place in the round of
16 at the Credit Agricole Arena in Gstaad, Switzerland.
The French veteran recreated his magic to outclass Andreev in their sixth battle against each other. After earning the spotlight in two hours and 11 minutes, Mathieu not only avenged his loss at the Paris Masters four years ago but also levelled the FedEx
ATP Head 2 Head series by 3-3 against the Russian.
The Swiss resident, Mathieu, made a powerful entry at this outdoor clay court tournament and drew the first blood in the second game to leap to a 3-0 lead. He then fended off all three breakpoints he faced to keep his remaining serves and ultimately clicked
the opener with a 6-3 win.
Currently ranked 172nd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Mathieu kept momentum sailing into the following set and held his opening serve to level the scores at 1-1. He blocked all four breakpoints he faced and swiped his entire
serves with conviction. However, the French squandered the lone break chance and took the set to a tie-breaker. He cruised to a 3-1 lead in it before carving out the victory with a 7-6(4) score line.
Overall, the 30-year-old committed 10 double faults but smashed six aces to cover it up. He produced a lower first serve share of 57 per cent as opposed to his rival’s 65 per cent but amazingly clicked 48 out of 64 points on it.
Next in queue for Mathieu is third seeded Swiss, Stanislas Wawrinka, who received a first round bye after being the top four players.
Mathieu’s compatriot, Benoit Paire, also stole the show later that day. He stunned the Australian number one, Bernard Tomic, with a bagel in 59 minutes. The world number 47, Paire, cashed in five out of eight break chances and formulated a 6-0, 6-4 victory
in their first meeting.
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