Radek Stepanek crashes out by Steve Darcis in the second round – SAP Open 2012
Fourth seeded Radek Stepanek bowed out by the Belgian star, Steve Darcis, in straight sets at the SAP Open 2012 on Thursday. He registered a 6-7(4), 6-7(2) defeat against the 27-year-old Belgian in the second round at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event held in San Jose, United States.
World number 29 showed poor performance in both tie-breakers and ultimately exited from this hard court tournament with disappointment. Stepanek not only failed to avenge his loss at Lyon ATP event in 2008 but also fell to 1-2 in the FedEx ATP Head2Head record against the Belgian.
The 33-year-old assertively entered the HP Pavilion and drew the first blood in the third game. However, he lost his edge in the sixth game and took the set to the tie-breaker. Stepanek remained in deficit through the tie-breaker and eventually suffered a 6-7(4) shock.
The Czech Republic re-gathered his strength in the following set and held his serve in the opening game with conviction. Through his tremendous defensive skills, Stepanek fended off all four breakpoints he came across and remaining serves. However, he failed to seek any break opportunity and took the set to a tie-breaker. The seed displayed dismal performance in it and eventually registered a 6-7(2) loss.
Overall, the Czech veteran formulated an equal first serve share of 64 percent and clicked 38 out of 54 points on it. He also smashed four aces and found six break chances. However, Stepanek coughed several unforced errors and more double faults, eventually suffering this defeat.
Ranked 72nd in the South African Airways ATP World Rankings, Darcis on the other side of net is in great run of form. He entered this tournament after making a final showdown at the Dallas Challenger last week (lost to Jesse Levine). The unseeded star then earned a straight set victory over Steve Johnson in his opening round match.
“Last week I played the final in Dallas. I played good tennis there, and this week the same,” said the booming Belgian after the match. “I’m feeling really good. I won many matches and of course I’m confident.”
Darcis will confront the fifth seed, Julien Benneteau, in the final eight. The French eased past the Luxembourgian challenger, Gilles Muller, in straight sets to set-up this battle. He lost his serve twice and capitalised on five out of seven break opportunities to seal the deal with a 6-2, 6-4 success in their third outing.
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