Richard Gasquet knocks out Sergiy Stakhovsky in the first round – US Open 2011
Thirteenth seed Richard Gasquet of France defeated world number 55 Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 in the opening round of US Open at the Flushing Meadows in New York on Monday. The match lasted for
an hour and 53 minutes.
Gasquet took the lead straightaway as he broke the Ukrainian in the first game of the first set and won his next service game to grab a 2-0 lead. The French won his own service games throughout the set, serving it out in the tenth
game and sealing it 6-4.
The six feet and one inch tall hit three aces and 73 percent of the first deliveries, sealing sixteen of the nineteen points on them in the opening set. Gasquet captured four of the seven second service points and nine of the 27
total receiving points. The French bombarded eleven winners and converted the only break point opportunity he created on Stakhovsky’s serve in the first set.
Gasquet and the Ukrainian held their serve in the first five games of the second set to take the score to 3-2 in the latter’s favour. Stakhovsky hit the first blow as he broke the French in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead but
he was unable to hold his serve in the next game, taking the score to 4-3. Gasquet broke again in the ninth game and served out the set in the tenth game, bagging it 6-4.
The French hit twelve winners and the same number of unforced errors in the second set. The right-handed delivered two aces, converting fourteen of the 22 first serves and nine of the eighteen second serves into points. Gasquet
and Stakhovsky returned very well as they won 47 percent and 41 percent of the receiving points respectively in the second set.
The 25-year-old did not look back after taking two sets to love lead and won six consecutive games in the third set, breaking the Ukrainian three times to clinch the set 6-0.
Gasquet kept winning easy points on his serve as he fired a couple of aces, claiming an incredible nine of the ten points on the first serves and all the three second service points in the third set. The 13th ranked
played quite well at the net, grabbing three of the four net approach points in the third set.
The French is drawn to take on world number 94 Ivo Karlovic of Croatia in the second round.
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