Tobias Kamke overpowers James Blake to reach second round – Farmers Classic 2012
German star, Tobias Kamke, battled past the former world number four James Blake in a three-set thriller at the Farmers Classic 2012 on Tuesday. He penned down a 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(4) victory against the local veteran to book a spot in the round of 16 at this
Emirates Airline US Open series event held in Los Angeles, California.
Kamke lost his track in the second set but dominated in the final set tie-breaker to pocket the match at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. He needed two hours and 17 minutes to book a place in the second round and take lead in the head-to-head series by 1-0
against the world number 112.
The 26-year-old stated in a post-match press conference:
"I started pretty well and I played my best tennis at the beginning. Then at 3-1, I had a break point. He served well and started to play well and deserved to win the second match and had some good chances to win the match. It's tough. He played pretty well
in the third set and I was down and … I just tried to stay in it somehow, and it worked out. I played it point-by-point and I got a chance and it worked out pretty well."
The German, who is bidding for his maiden ATP career title, unleashed his true potential from the start. He stroke off the opening four games in a row before pulling out the opener with a 6-2 score line.
Blake re-kindled his spark in the follow-up set and got back in contention. He endured the initial loss in the third game but after breaking his rival’s serve twice, the American leaped to a 5-3 lead. Despite losing his edge again in the ninth game, Blake
put his head in the game and got the breakthrough in the last game. He brushed off three out of five breakpoints he faced and capitalised on three out of five break chances, eventually sealing the equaliser with a 7-5 win.
Ranked 108th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Kamke found his rhythm in the final set and earned critical break in the opening game. He lost his three serves after that and went 3-5 down. However, the German spectacularly
broke back again and took the set to a tie-breaker. He edged past Blake in it and clicked the decider with a 7-6(4) success.
Next in line for Kamke is the sixth seed, Marinko Matosevic, who hit back to outshine his compatriot, Chris Guccione, in three sets to set up this meeting.
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