Philipp Kohlschreiber edges past Grega Zemlja to reach the main draw – China Open 2011
After another nail biting matchup, the top seed German, Philipp Kohlschreiber, registered victory against the seventh seeded Slovenian, Grega Zemlja, in the final round of the qualifying rounds of the China Open on Sunday afternoon.
The enthralling three-setter took two hours and forty nine minutes of play to conclude, with Kohlschreiber settling the scores in his favour at 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 7-5, to make it to the main draw of the ATP (Association of Tennis
Professionals) World Tour 500 tournament.
The contest was staged on the outdoor hard courts of the Olympic Green Tennis Center in Beijing, China, with the two competitors throwing out their best at each other. Zemlja hung in the contest till the very last minute and gave
real tough time to the top seeded German before accepting defeat in the third set. The Slovenian took the opener in a tie breaker round but Kohlschreiber did the same in the next set to bring him back on even terms. Zemlja kept his focus in the final set as
well but a couple of sloppy mistakes from the Slovenian towards the end of the set cost him the matchup.
Kohlschreiber served with 55 per cent precision, cracking 13 thudding aces and coughing five double faults in the matchup. He secured 48 out of 69 first serve points in the contest to take the better of his opponent, who closely
followed him with 44 points. Kohlschreiber registered four out of his eight break opportunities, while Zemlja converted just three of his 10 chances to finish on the losing side in the end.
The top seeded German registered his first serve break of the day in the fourth game of the matchup but Zemlja took the set into a tie breaker round after breaking his serve in the ninth game. The opening set fell to the Slovenians
name but Kohlschreiber made a strong come back in the following set to level the matchup with one set a piece. A stiff contest was followed in the final set but Zemlja lost his focus in the game to bestow victory over Kohlschreiber, sending him into the opening
round of the main draws of the China Open.
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