Sam Querrey, Michael Shahbaz through to the second round – Tulsa Challenger 2011
American tennis pro Sam Querrey made it to the second round with a marvellous 7-5, 6-2 victory over compatriot David Martin at 2011 Tulsa Challenger series here in Oklahoma, United States.
Seeded first at the Association of Tennis Professionals tournament, Querrey looked in stunning form on Tuesday in match that lasted for only 1 hour and 3 minutes. The American was delighted with his effort and looks to winning the title here.
Querrey’s strong and on-target serve played a big part in deciding the outcome of the match. The 23-year-old hit 9 serves aces in the match and he achieved 84 per cent first serve conversion. Putting his opponent’s serve under extreme pressure, he dominated the serve return department of the game as well by clinching nearly half of the points at the receiving end.
Timing the ball really well, Querrey made a solid start to the match. Playing some great tennis from the baseline, he controlled almost all the rallies to put himself in the driving seat. Holding on to his service games with ease; he served with control and accuracy. Breaking the serve early in the opening set, he forced his rival to defend right from the beginning of the match.
Martin put up a great fight and he broke straight back to stay in the set. However, his weak serve always meant that he was fighting a losing battle. He suffered another break of serve in eleventh game of the set to let Querrey take a tricky 6-5 lead. Ranked 125th in the world, Querrey held on to his next service game with three straight points to clinch the opener.
Querrey completely outplayed the challenger in the second and final set. The top seed held on to his service games quite comfortably and he broke the serve twice to earn an impassable 5-2 lead, serving for the set. Dashing a gorgeous backhand winner cross court, he set up two match points for himself and the converted the first one to seal an emphatic victory.
In another match, wild card entrant Michael Shahbaz defeated Greg Ouellette 6-4, 7-6 (4) to book his place in the pre-quarterfinal round.
Although the match lasted over just two sets, it was played on an extremely competitive note. Shahbaz broke the serve at regular intervals and he also played the big points really well. Ouellette managed to force the second set in the tie-breaker but he lost the track again to let his opponent earn a comfortable victory.
Tags: