Sam Querrey stuns Ernests Gulbis in the first round – Valencia Open 2011
American Sam Querrey subjugated Ernests Gulbis of Latvia in the first round of Valencia Open 2011. The match lasted for an hour and eleven minutes and finished with a straight sets 6-3, 6-4 triumph for the American.
The tournament was contested on indoor hard-courts at Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, Valencia, Spain. Both players had won one game apiece against one another and were looking to double their tally, prior to this encounter.
Recent stats for both players were completely contrasting; Querrey had lost three of his last nine matches whilst his opponent had just won three of his last nine encounters. Although, Gulbis was ranked way superior than his rival,
his dismal form hinted towards an upset.
World No. 116, Querrey started the proceedings by holding on to his serve and so did his opponent. They went neck to neck for the first five games of the set and were not allowing any chance to their competitor to take advantage.
First breakthrough came in the sixth game when the American broke his rival’s serve to take the lead of two games and pressed the score to 4-2. World No. 52, Gulbis was unable to earn a single opportunity to break his opponent’s
serve that lost him the set at the end.
Whenever Latvian was close to earn a breakpoint opportunity, American came up with something special that ruined the setup Gulbis. 24-year-old, Querrey struck 7 aces in the first set compared to just one of his rival.
American bagged the first set by winning 35 points compared to 31 of Gulbis. Everyone sensed an upset. It required humongous improvement in Latvian’s game play to come up with something special in the second set and keeps his hope
alive to make it through to the next round.
Second set proceedings were started by 23-year-old Latvian who held his serve in the first game and struck skilfully placed ace. The next game was the perfect replica of the first as the American squared the score with an ace as
well.
First and the only break of the set came in the third game when Querrey clinched the most crucial breakpoint and took lead with 2-1 score. From here on both players capitalized on their serves. Once again, Gulbis wasn’t able to
earn single opportunity to break and all his efforts to bounce back in the match went in vain.
Third set was completed with 53 points. American pocketed 29 whilst his rival could just secure 24 and lost the contest. Sam Querrey marches into the second set in style and meets the second seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.
It is a tough draw for the American and would require much more effort to turn it in his favour.
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