Xavier Malisse surprises Andy Roddick in opening round – Regions Morgan Keegan Championships 2012
Belgian tennis star, Xavier Malisse, stunned the second seeded Andy Roddick in straight sets at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships 2012 on Wednesday. He jolted down a 7-6(8), 7-5 victory over the local veteran to advance into the second round at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 series event taking place in Memphis, Tennessee.
Malisse edged past the former world number one for the first time in their tenth meeting at the Racquet Club of Memphis. He overwhelmed resilience posed by Roddick to not only lower the trail in their FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series by 1-9 but also secured a spot in the round of 16.
The defending Champion, Roddick, stormed into the opening set at his home soil tournament. He jumped to a 2-0 lead after drawing the first blood in the second game. However, the American lost his edge in the very next game and eventually squared the scores at 2-2. He sought six break opportunities but squandered all of them, dragging the set to a tie-breaker. Despite his dominance in the set and a higher first serve share, Roddick was underplayed by the Belgian in it and consequently suffering a 6-7(8) shock.
Ranked 75th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Malisse carried his winning ways in the proceeding set and held his serve in the opening game. He then maintained his intensity and not only plucked remaining serves but also earned the breakthrough in the last game. The Belgian was never challenged with any barrier while keeping his serves. He capitalised on one out of two break chances to seal the deal with a 7-5 score line.
Next up for the Xavier is the German challenger, Benjamin Becker, who slew Israel’s Dudi Sela with a breadstick to reach this spot.
Another casualty of the day was the sixth seed, Julien Benneteau, who was edged out by the German rising star, Philipp Petzschner, in straight sets. The French dragged both sets to tie-breakers but trailed in them to suffer a 6-7 (5), 6-7(6) defeat in their fourth meeting.
Tags: