Sam Querrey upsets Fernando Verdasco in round one – China Open 2012
American contender, Sam Querrey, stunned the eighth seed, Fernando Verdasco, in a three-set thriller at the China Open 2012 on Monday. He hit back to overpower the Spanish seed with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 victory in the opening round at this ATP (Association of
Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 Series event taking place in Beijing, China.
Querrey stayed on track to bid for his second year-to-date title after shocking the former world number seven at this outdoor hard court event. After earning the glory in just under two hours, Querrey not only improved to a 2-1 lifetime in the FedEx ATP
Head 2 Head Series against the 28-year-old but also charged into the second round.
The world number 23 assertively entered the National Tennis Center. He swiftly swiped his entire serves without facing any trouble and cashed in the lone break opportunity in the 11th game, eventually sealing the opener with a 7-5 success.
Querrey re-structured his strategy in the proceeding set. He fired exquisite forehands to bag his entire serves. The American got the breakthrough in the second last game and clinched the equaliser with a 6-3 score line. He amazingly warded off all three
breakpoints he faced and availed the only break opportunity he sought.
Ranked 26th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Querrey repeated his winning ways in the final set. He brilliantly warded off all three breakpoints he came across to keep his entire serves. The American required a single break
of serve in the ninth game and clicked the decider with a 6-4 win.
All in all, Querrey spilled more double faults but smashed 10 aces to prevail. He also produced a lower first serve share of 54 per cent as compared to his rival’s 65 per cent but impressively clinched 43 out of 51 points on it.
Querrey will next face the winner of the match between France’s Julien Benneteau and the Italian challenger, Andreas Seppi.
The sixth seed, Alexandr Dolgopolov from Ukraine, faced a better fate earlier that day. He crushed the Spanish challenger, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, with a bagel in one hour and nine minutes.
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