Philipp Kohlschreiber rallies past Jamie Baker into the last eight – AEGON International 2012
Germany’s second best player, Philipp Kohlschreiber, fought back after the thrashing in the second set to down the British number three, Jamie Baker, in the round of 16 at the AEGON International in Eastbourne, England, on Wednesday.
The German needed an hour and 49 minutes to beat the home favourite in three sets 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 and advance to the last eight.
Kohlschreiber has been in good touch recently, as he stunned the world number two, Rafael Nadal of Spain, in the quarter-finals at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle last week.
The German started to dominate the contest from the beginning, as he struck in the first and third game, capitalising on the double break to win the opener 6-2.
Baker bounced back in the second set, snatching opening three games to build a 3-0 lead. The Brit sustained his advantage till the end of proceedings and closed it 6-3.
Kohlschreiber changed his game plan and started to play almost flawlessly in the final set, bagging five in a row and attaining a 5-0 lead. Baker was looking to come on equal terms, as he won three consecutive games to reduce the
trail to 3-5. The Brit, however, did not succeeded in his mission and lost it 3-6.
Despite the loss, Baker is confident of putting up a good show at the grass courts of All England Club. He shared, "I'm as fit as I've ever been, I'm at my highest ranking and I had a great win the other day. To get my first win
at Wimbledon, it's hard for me to explain how much that would mean."
Baker produced his biggest win in the last match, as he toppled the world number 50, Donald Young of USA, in straight sets. The Brit, who is ranked at the 200th position in the world, will jump around 15 places in the
next release by ATP.
Giving an interview after his previous match, Baker had said, “Today showed there isn’t a huge difference in gulf between ranks. Grass court is definitely a leveller and if I stay fit, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t reach the
ranks of Donald Young. The word that I keep pressing is belief. Belief is a big word. I’ll take it a step at a time. My next goal is to reach 150.”
Kohlschreiber is pitted against the third seed, Andreas Seppi of Italy, in the quarter-finals.
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