Philipp Kohlschreiber downs Fabio Fognini to reach last eight – German Tennis Championships 2012
Sixth seed, Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, defeated Italy’s Fabio Fognini in straight sets 7-5, 6-2 in the round of 16 at the Bet-at-home German Tennis Championships in Hamburg on Thursday.
Fognini came roaring in the match, as he grabbed first three games to attain a 3-0 lead. He maintained his advantage till 4-1 but Kohlschreiber bounced back afterwards, winning three in a row to even out the proceedings at 4-4.
They broke each other in the following two, taking the score to 5-5. Kohlschreiber picked up his pace later on, snatching a break in the 11th and capitalising on it to triumph 7-5.
The second set was far less competitive than the first one. The opening four games went with the serve to level the score at 2-2 but it was all Kohlschreiber show after that, as he captured four back-to-back to close it 6-2.
The German fired a total of two aces and made equal number of double faults in the match. The 28-year-old won most of the points on the first deliveries and second returns, pocketing 14 of the 26 and 17 of the 27 points on them
respectively. The 5ft 10in tall could not save both break points he faced but compensated that by converting five of the 11 he received.
Kohlschreiber took just an hour and 22 minutes to throw Fognini out of the competition.
Commenting on the proceedings of the encounter, he said, “I think it was a rough start. I made too many unforced errors and he started pretty well. I raised my level, which I’m very happy about, and at the end I think it was very
comfortable.”
The German participant has booked a date with the top seed, Nicolas Almagro, in the quarter-finals. Almagro eased past the former world number three, Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 into the last eight-stage.
Talking about his next match against Almagro, Kohlschreiber added, “It’s going to be a tough one, but now I have nothing to lose. So far I’ve reached my best result here in Hamburg, and I’m very happy about it.”
This will be the seventh career meeting between Kohlschreiber and Almagro, with the head to head series tied at 3-3 before this match. When they met for the last time, Kohlschreiber toppled the Spaniard in straight sets 7-6(5),
6-4 in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Open.
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