Top seeds advance into the main draw in Shanghai – Shanghai Rolex Masters 2012
Big names in the qualifying competition of the Shanghai Rolex Masters booked spots in the main draw on Sunday. However, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Tatsuma Ito faced a bitter fate at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters 1000 event held in Shanghai, China.
Seeded top in the qualifying competition, Marinko Matosevic, stayed focused throughout his battle against Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky, eventually sealing the deal in a three-set thriller in one and a half hour. He was broken twice but cashed five out of seven break opportunities to formulate a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 score line in his first encounter.
The third seed, Brian Baker, followed the footsteps of the Australian contender. The American veteran slaughtered Slovenia’s Grega Zemlja with a breadstick to secure a place in the first round. He dusted away two out of four breakpoints he faced and availed half of the 10 break chances to formulate a 6-1, 7-5 score line.
Yen-Hsun Lu, who is seeded fifth in this qualifying competition, overpowered Thailand’s Danai Udomchoke in straight sets under an hour. He was never threatened with any breakpoint and capitalised on three out of four break chances to manipulate a 6-3, 6-2 success.
The sixth seed, Tatsuma Ito from Japan, faced a bitter fortune. He was underplayed by the German veteran, Michael Berrer in one hour and 14 minutes. The Japanese starlet squandered all four break chances and brushed off one out of three breakpoints he came across, eventually suffering a 6-7(3), 1-6 loss.
Seeded seventh in the qualifying competition, Lukasz Kubot from Poland also stole the show. He broke 13th seeded Jimmy Wang’s serve three times, eventually formulating a 6-4, 6-2 success in one hour and 41 minutes.
The fourth seed, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, was also underplayed by his opponent. He bowed out to the Russian veteran, Alex Bogomolov Jr., in brutal straight sets in one hour and 47 minutes.
The German challenger, Philipp Petzschner, will accompany Matosevic in the main draw. He was never challenged with any breakpoint and cashed three out of four break chances, ultimately crushing Romania’s Marius Copil with a bagel in one hour and 16 minutes.
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