Richard Gasquet ousts Matthew Ebden in opening round – China Open 2012
Fifth seed, Richard Gasquet, tumbled the Australian qualifier, Matthew Ebden, in straight sets at the China Open 2012 on Tuesday. He penned down a 6-2, 6-4 success over the world number 61 to secure a place in the round of 16 at this ATP (Association of
Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 Series event held in Beijing, China.
The French seed showed exceptional skills to dump Ebden in their third meeting. After recording the victory in one hour and 21 minutes, Gasquet improved to a 3-0 lifetime in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head Series against the 24-year-old and powered into the second
round at this outdoor hard court event.
Gasquet, who is bidding for his second year-to-date title, thundered into the National Tennis Center. He drew the first blood in the opening game and took the initial lead. The French swiped his entire serves without encountering any trouble and cashed in
his second break chance in the seventh game, eventually sealing the opener by winning six games to two.
Ranked 14th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Gasquet maintained his intensity in the following set. He got the coveted break in the opening game and jumped to a 2-0 lead. Apart from losing his edge in the eighth game, the
French got the breakthrough in the very next game and eventually clinched the set with a 6-4 score line. He fended off two out of three breakpoints he faced and converted two out of six break chances to his advantage.
The Frenchman, who is coming off conquering the Thailand Open in Bangkok, took full advantage of many unforced errors his opponent spilled. He also jolted down a better first serve share of 58 per cent in contrast with the Aussie’s 52 per cent and spectacularly
availed 24 out of 28 points on it.
Gasquet will next face the local wild card entrant, Ze Zhang, who crushed his compatriot, Di Wu, with a breadstick to set up this meeting.
The third seed, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga from France, also earned the glory later that day. He battled past Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin in three sets to progress.
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