Xavier Malisse bows out by Robby Ginepri in the opening round – SAP Open 2012
World number 74, Xavier Malisse, was stunned by the local wild card entrant, Robby Ginepri, with a breadstick at the SAP Open 2012 on Tuesday. The Belgian veteran suffered a disappointing 1-6, 2-6 defeat at the hands of the American in this ATP (Association
of Tennis Professionals) World Tour event held in San Jose, United States.
The 31-year-old showed dismal performance in his opening round match at the HP Pavilion and ultimately saw the exit doors. Malisse failed to cash in any of the four break opportunities he clobbered and fell to a 1-2 record at the FedEx ATP Head2Head series
against the American. Both stars previously battled each other at the Las Vegas ATP event in 2008 where Ginepri overpowered the Belgian in a three set thriller.
The Florida resident nervously stepped on the hard courts and barely did anything. After gifting away his opening two serves Malisse eventually went 4-0 down. He tried to show some resistance after this and managed to keep his serve in the fifth game. However,
the Belgian lost his momentum again and registered a 1-6 shock.
World number 235 on the other side of net kept his rhythm in the following set. After Malisse held his serve in the fourth game, Ginepri unleashed his skills again and wiped out the last four games in a row. The American brushed off both breakpoints he faced
and capitalised on two out of three break chances to manipulate a 6-2 victory.
Summing up the higher ranked performance, Malisse committed several unforced errors and five double faults which cost him the match. He also formulated a poor first serve share of 41 percent and clicked only 14 out of 20 points on it. The Belgian also displayed
poor defensive skills as he saved only two out of seven breakpoints he came across.
The wild card on the other hand assertively entered the round of 16 after dominating throughout the 56-minutes battle. Ginepri produced an amazing first serve share of 75 percent and clinched 28 out of 41 points on it. He will confront the winner of the
match between eighth seed, Olivier Rochus, and Ryan Harrison.
Xavier Malisse crashes out by Robby Ginepri in the opening round – SAP Open 2012
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