Richard Gasquet was edged out by Radek Stepanek in round two – Shanghai Rolex Masters 2012
French star, Richard Gasquet, was crashed out by the Czech contender, Radek Stepanek, in brutal straight sets at the Shanghai Rolex Masters 2012 on Wednesday. He endured a 4-6, 4-6 loss at the hands of the Czech veteran in the second round at this outdoor hard court event held in Shanghai, China.
Seeded 11th in this event, Gasquet showed dismal performance and eventually exited in early rounds from the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena. Stepanek on the other side not only avenged his loss at the French Open last season but also extended lead in the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head Series by 3-1 against the Swiss resident.
Gasquet assertively entered this ATP Masters 1000 event. He smoothly held his opening serve and levelled the scores at 1-1. The French held his composure and swiped his remaining serves until he suffered the first blow in the 10th game. As a result, Gasquet endured a 4-6 loss.
Ranked 13th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Gasquet rebounded in the proceeding set. He smoothly kept his serves until he got the coveted break in the seventh game, eventually taking a 4-3 lead. However, the French stepped off steam and lost the following three games. He cashed one out of two break chances but dusted away only half of the four breakpoints he faced, eventually suffering a 4-6 shock.
On the whole, the 26-year-old faced eight aces and clobbered only 54 points. He manifested a better first serve share of 78 per cent as compared to his rival’s 56 per cent but could only avail 29 out of 45 points on it.
The world number 41, Stepanek will next encounter eighth seeded John Isner who overpowered the South African number one, Kevin Anderson, in three sets’ tie-breaker to set up this meeting.
The fourth seed, Tomas Berdych, stayed on course to qualify for the year end Barclays ATP World Tour Finals held in London. He held his entire serves with ease and cashed half of the six break chances, consequently formulating a 6-3, 6-3 score line in one hour and 19 minutes.
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