Ze Zhang cripples Di Wu to reach second round – China Open 2012
In a clash between two local wild card entrants, Ze Zhang dumped his compatriot, Di Wu, with a breadstick at the China Open 2012 on Monday. He nudged up a 6-4, 6-1 victory against the world number 176 to secure a place in the round of 16 at this ATP (Association
of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 Series event held in Beijing, China.
Zhang displayed awe-inspiring skills to overpower his fellow citizen in their first encounter. After registering this success in one hour and 17 minutes, the winning Chinese took lead in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head Series against the 21-year-old and powered
into the second round at this outdoor hard court event.
The 22-year-old made a slow start at the National Tennis Center. He suffered the first blow in the second game and went 0-2 down. Despite recovering in the very next game, he was broken again, eventually falling at 1-4. However, Zhang went out of control
after that and wiped out the last five games in a row. He dusted away one out of three breakpoints he came across and capitalised on three out of seven break chances to clinch the opener with a 6-4 score line.
Ranked 165th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Zhang maintained his intensity in the proceeding set. After Wu held his serve in the opening game, the higher ranked Chinese unleashed barrage of groundstrokes and reeled off six
games in a row. He blocked the only breakpoint he faced and cashed in three out of four break chances to pull out the set with a breadstick.
Overall, Zhang smacked five aces and ruled throughout the match. He produced a slightly lower first serve share of 49 per cent as compared to his rival’s 51 per cent and brilliantly marked 18 out of 23 points on it.
Zhang will next face the conqueror of the match between fifth seeded Richard Gasquet and the Australian qualifier, Matthew Ebden.
The South African number on, Kevin Anderson, bounced back to triumph over America’s Brian Baker in almost two hours. He was broken twice but cashed in five out of 11 break chances to prevail.
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