Tommy Haas downs Guillaume Rufin to reach round two – Sony Ericsson Open 2012
Former world number two, Tommy Haas, reflected his 2002 spark in this match and tumbled over the French contender, Guillaume Rufin, in straight sets at the Sony Ericsson Open on Wednesday. He jolted down a 6-4, 6-4 victory over
the world number 173 to advance into the second round at this Masters 1000 event held in Miami, United States.
The 33-year-old displayed brilliant skills to outrun Rufin in their first meeting at the Floridian hard courts. He required a single break of serve in each set to not only book a spot in the second round but also inch closer towards
his 13 career title.
Haas assertively entered the Tennis Center at Crandon Park and kept his serve in the second game to tie the scores at 1-1. He then held his following serve before drawing the first blood in the fifth game, eventually putting his
nose ahead for the first time in the set. The German held his composure after this and bagged the opener by winning six games to four.
Currently ranked 145th in the South African Airways ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Rankings, Haas kept his rhythm in the following set and broke Rufin’s serve in the opening game to take the initial
lead. The German then kept his entire serves after defending the only breakpoint he faced and sealed the set with a 6-4 score line.
Overall, the German veteran prevailed throughout the match. He spilled two double faults and clobbered a slightly lower first serve share of 61 per cent as opposed to the French’s 63 per cent. However, Haas tremendously clinched
31 out of 38 points on it and found 10 break opportunities. The German converted two to his advantage and saved all breakpoints he encountered to earn the spotlight.
Next up for Haas is the 25th seed, Radek Stepanek of Czech Republic.
Frederico Gil from Portugal also stole the show later that day. He eased past the Brazilian challenger, Thomaz Bellucci, in straight sets to reach this place. Gil broke his opponent’s serve three times and lost his serve once to
register a 6-3, 6-4 success.
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