Tobias Kamke overpowers the injury-stricken Julio Silva in the qualifiers – Sony Ericsson Open 2012
Qualifying second seed, Tobias Kamke overcame Julia Silva in the opening qualifying round of the Sony Ericsson Open 2012 on Monday. He was leading 6-2 when the Brazilian was forced to retire due to an injury at this ATP (Association
of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Masters 1000 event taking place in Miami, Florida.
The German contender prevailed throughout the opening set against Silva in their first meeting. However, the 32-year-old was forced to withdraw at the start of the second set, consequently leading Kamke into the final round of
the qualifying competition at this hard court tournament.
Kamke, ranked 88th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, thundered into the Tennis Center at Crandon Park and leaped to a 3-0 lead after drawing the first blood early in the set. Apart from losing his
serve in the fifth game, Kamke remained on track and unleashed his abilities to wipe out the last four games successively.
He clobbered an equal first serve share of 48 per cent and spectacularly clicked 12 out of 15 points on it. The German also warded off three out of four breakpoints he came across and capitalised on three out of five break chances
to earn the spotlight.
Next up for Kamke is the Croatian star, Antonio Veic who also registered a retirement victory against the 21st seed, Grega Zemlja, to reach this spot. Veic lost his serve twice but pocketed the opener with a 7-5 success
after cashing in three out of five break chances. However, the Slovene was forced to pull out from the match after this, leaving Veic to secure a spot in the next round.
The top seed, Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also joined the club of retirement winners later that day. The French star was leading 6-2 in the match when his opponent, Alexander Kudryavtsev from Russia, was forced to retire from the tournament.
He lost his serve once but broke the Russian’s serve three times to dominate in the match. The 28-year-old also clobbered a better first serve share and acceptably clinched 11 out of 17 points on it.
Tags: