Richard Gasquet downs Andreas Seppi in the first round draw – Australian Open 2012
Seeded at number 17 in the tournament draw, Richard Gasquet of France registered a convincing victory over the 40th ranked Andreas Seppi of Italy in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday. The world number
18 took two hours and 31 minutes of play to wind up his triumph in four sets, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, moving into the second round of the Grand Slam event.
The exciting contest was played on the Show Court 2 of the Melbourne Park in Australia, with Gasquet displaying his vintage class once again to oust Seppi from the competition. His 65 per cent precise serve included 10 cracking
aces and he clinched 49 out of 63 first serve points en route to victory.
Gasquet took off the contest in grand fashion, taking down the Italian opponent in the opening set to get one up early in the game. He dropped his serve in the very first game of the match but came up with two crushing break point
conversions in fifth and seventh games to snatch back the advantage from his rival. The Frenchman sealed the opening set at 6-3 in the opening 36 minutes of play.
Seppi struck early in the following set to break into a 3-0 lead but the 17th seed broke his serve in the fifth game, only to drop serve in the very next game. The unseeded Italian held on to his lead and finished off
the second set at 6-3 to level the competition at one-all.
25-year-old French got an early opportunity in the third set and cashed it to lead 3-0 right away. He secured 14 out of 15 first serve points in to claim the third set at 6-3. With 2-1 lead in the matchup, Gasquet went for the
kill fourth set and launched a series of attacking manoeuvres to stung three break points in a row. The 17thseed closed out the fourth set with a breadstick, 6-1, to secure a well-fought victory.
Gasquet will take on the winner of the match between Mikhail Youzhny and Andrey Golubev in the second round of the tournament.
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