Pierre-Hugues Herbert shocks Tatsuma Ito in round one – Orange Open Guadeloupe 2012 CH
French qualifier, Pierre-Hugues Herbert, surprised everyone after upsetting the seventh seed, Tatsuma Ito, with a breadstick at the Orange Open Guadeloupe 2012 on Wednesday. He jolted down a 6-1, 7-6(5) victory against the world number 94 to advance into
the second round at this Challenger Tour event taking place in Le Gosier, Guadeloupe.
Herbert sought 14 break opportunities and capitalised on four to stun Japanese seed in one hour and 49 minutes. Encountering each other for the first time, the French not only earned the glory but also advanced into the round of 16 at this ATP (Association
of Tennis Professionals) hard court event.
The qualifier confidently entered the Stade Lambert Lamby and held his serve in the opening game. After Ito held his serve in the second game, the French unleashed barrage of groundstrokes, eventually reel off the following five games in a row. Herbert saved
the only breakpoint he came across and cashed in two out of five break chances to pull out the opener with a breadstick.
Ranked 336th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Herbert lost his track in the following set and gifted away his serve in the second game to trail at 0-2. However, he made a fitting reply and winded up the proceeding four games
successively. Regardless of losing his edge in the eighth game, he stayed focused and dragged the set to a tie-breaker. The French jumped to a 4-1 lead before clinching the set with a 7-6(5) score line.
Overall, the qualifier registered impressive stats as he fired seven aces and committed fewer double faults. He clobbered a slightly higher first serve share of 54 per cent in contrast with his rival’s 53 per cent and impressively marked 34 out of 45 points
on it.
Next challenge for the French is the German contender, Benjamin Becker. The 30-year-old broke Rogerio Dutra Silva’s serve three times and kept entire serves to formulate a 6-4, 6-2 success in 74 minutes. He smacked eight aces and produced a better first
serve share of 67 per cent as opposed to the Brazilian’s 60 per cent to earn the spotlight.
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