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Tsonga flies through the Beijing quarters
The French, who had previously ousted Grigor Dimitrov, needed nearly one hour and a half to beat the host whom he broke twice in the opener. Zhang also stole a service from the main favorite but failed to push the game further. The Chinese built four break points but Tsonga managed to save three of them, otherwise things could have become pretty complicated for the seeder.
As for the second set, it was controlled by the same Tsonga who is chasing his second title of the season after the Metz success. The French created himself five break points in the last term but only converted one, sufficient though for a two game lead. He also gave his opponent to chance to break, closing the meeting after two rounds.
“It was not easy today, and I’m happy to win. I think when you reach the Top 100 you can see the difference with the serve and with the returns,” said Tsonga at the end of the meeting. Next up for him is former world leader Juan Carlos Ferrero, who is also chasing his second trophy in Beijing.
The French finished the game with a 72 service percentage, a 45 return one and three breaks out of seven tries. Tsonga also hit eight aces, committed a double faults and won 68 points out of 117 played, compared to his opponent’s 62 first serve percentage, four aces, five double faults and a poor 28 return percentage.
The Spaniard beat his conational Marcel Granollers in two similar sets, 6-4, 6-4. This year’s Stuttgart champion broke Granollers once in the first set when he also saved a break point from the opposite side. Ferrero, who had previously upset Thomaz Bellucci, provided an identical performance in the second set, grabbing one break in two tries.
He also saved two break points from Granollers who eventually conceded the victory in nearly one hour and a half. “His style to me is good. I like to play against him. I feel very good every time I come to Asia. I know that I have a lot fans here supporting me all the time, so for me it’s amazing to come here very far, far away from home and feel like at home,” said Ferrero after the clash.
Ferrero’s performance included a 52 first serve percentage, a 73 service one and two breaks. He hit at the same time five aces, committed four double faults and won 36 percent of returning points. On the other side, Marcel’s showing featured a 56 first serve percentage, six aces, two double faults and a 27 receiving percentage.
World number 84 Ferrero will meet the seventh ranked Tsonga for the fourth time, the head to head series between the two having gone 2-1 to the French who won the first two meetings, last occasion at last term’s Miami Masters. Spaniard’s only win comes from the 2010 Monte Carlo Masters.
On the same second half of the draw, Tomas Berdych needed nearly one hour and ten minutes to secure a spot into the quarter finals when the Czech, who is seeded third at the China Open crashed Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2, 6-0 in the second round.
The Czech dominated both terms at all facets, leaving his opponent four games adrift in the first set when the German, winner of this year’s Hale event, could only save two out of three break points from Berdych. Philipp failed to survive the early scare despite stealing a service from the favorite amid the set.
Concerning the second round, it saw Berdych improve his pace exponentially. He kept the sheet clean throughout it, breaking his opponent three more times in eight tries. On the other side, Kohlschreiber only built a break point which he failed to convert.
Berdych finished the game with a 71 service percentage, a 45 first serve one four aces, three double faults and an impressive 61 return percentage. As for Philipp, German’s showing featured a 48 first serve percentage, three aces, two double faults, a poor 29 return percentage and one break point conversion out of two tries.
World number 10 Berdych has also improved his head to head series with the 52nd ranked Kohlschreiber whom he has defeated six times in the previous seven meetings. Next up for Berdych, who had previously ousted Jurgen Melzer of Austria, is Fernando Verdasco who had some hard times against Flavio Cipolla in the second term.
Verdasco beat the Italian after surviving an early scare, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2. Cipolla stunned his opponent with three breaks in the opener but lost his momentum once the second term started. The Spaniard also broke his opponent amid the opener, but failed to create a consistent comeback. But the second set saw Verdasco set the pace and go five games atop.
In contrast with the opener, the Spaniard provided an impressive showing which saw him break Cipolla twice in two tries. Even more than that, he gave the Italian no chance to build a break point, pushing the meeting into a third set decider after nearly half an hour.
Finally, the last term was also dominated by Verdasco who won 81 percent of first serve points and 50 percent of return ones. Cipolla’s only momentum included a break point saved early in the round, insufficient though for a late comeback.
Overall, Verdasco came up with a 80 first serve percentage, a 47 return one, two aces and a couple of double faults. He also converted five out of eight break points and saved two from Cipolla whose showing included a 73 first serve percentage, a 35 receiving one and three breaks.
Berdych leads the head to head series with the world number 23 Verdasco who has won just four games in 11 meetings with the Czech. Spaniard’s last win comes from the 2010 Monte Carlo Masters, while Berdych, who will meet him for the second time this year, last defeated him at this term’s Australian open.
Concerning the second half of the draw, Ivan Ljubicic and Mikhail Youzhny will also provide an exciting quarter final the Croat edged Florian Mayer 6-0, 2-6, 6-3, while the Russian also follows a three set win over Feliciano Lopez.
Ljubicic made an impressive start, managing to keep the sheet clean throughout the entire opener when he both broke Mayer three times and saved two break points. Things got complicated for the Croatian in the second term as the German came up with a couple of breaks, something which helped him to force Ivan to a third round decider.
Concerning the third set, it was controlled by the same Croat who propelled through to a three game lead thanks to a break converted early in the term. Mayer failed to build any break chance, losing the game pretty easily, in nearly two hours.
Ljubicic finished the game with a 47 first serve percentage, a 13 aces, a 70 service percentage and four break conversions in eight tries. He also won 42 percent of return points and 73 points out of 131 played. On contrast, Mayer had a 52 first serve percentage, a 30 return one and two breaks, converting at the same time two out of four break points.
Croat’s next opponent Mikhail Youzhny edged Feliciano Lopez 6-7, 6-2, 7-5. The two broke each other once in the opener, pushing the term into a tight tie break. Despite winning five points, Youzhny conceded the breaker at the death allowing Lopez to draw half a victory after nearly 45 minutes. The Russian then came from behind to break his opponent twice in the second set when the Spaniard was given no opportunity to build a break point.
Youzhny thus pushed the game further and became the main favorite for the win, given his impressive pace. The third set brought him three breaks which propelled him two games atop late in the term. He also conceded a couple of services which could have forced him to another tie break. Youzhny won the game to go two wins from his best season performance.
The Russian finished the game with a 56 first serve percentage, four aces, eight double faults and a 39 return percentage. He converted at the same time six out of ten break points and 62 percent of service points, compared to the Spaniard who fired 20 aces past the tough Russian and grabbed three breaks.
Lopez came up with a 38 return percentage, ten double faults and a 55 first serve percentage, losing his second game against the world number 37 whom he dominated 3-2 in the head to head series. Spaniard’s last win comes from the 2004 U.A.E. event.
Youzhny will meet Ljubicic for the ninth time. World number 26 Croat leads the direct confrontations 7-1, his last defeat dating from the same 2010 Beijing event. As for Youzhny, Russian’s only win comes from the 2007 Rotterdam tournament.
Finally, Marin Cilic and Kevin Anderson will provide the last quarter final at the China Open. After an outstanding debut against Andy Roddick, the South African has provided yet another surprise in Beijing. Anderson edged Albert Montanes in two sets, 7-6, 7-6 to set his second meeting with Cilic.
The two players held their serves consistently in the opener, managing to go head to head until the tie break. Anderson, who missed a couple of break points, eased past the Spaniard 7-3 in the first breaker to show some solid determination. Both players then broke each other three times before heading towards a second tie break.
Anderson proved to be the better player on the crucial points as the South African went three mini breaks atop of the losing pace Montanes who conceded the victory in two terms. Anderson finished the game with a 64 first serve percentage, 13 aces, five double faults and a 43 return percentage. He also converted 63 percent of service points and three out of eight break points.
On the other side, Montanes came up with a 37 return percentage, a 57 service one, ten double faults and three aces. Anderson’s next opponent Marin Cilic edged Fabio Fognini in three sets, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3 in the same second round, in what was their third meeting ever.
Cilic won the first set with some ease, breaking his opponent three times in nearly half an hour. Fognini threatened with a late comeback in the second term which he won at the death. The Italian pushed the term into the tie break he eventually controlled very easily. Finally, the third set saw the same Croat set a three game lead thanks to three breaks grabbed early in the round.
Fognini also broke his opponent once but lost the game in over to hours. Cilic finished the game with a 54 first serve percentage, eight aces, three double faults and a 49 return percentage. On the other side, Fognini had a 58 first serve percentage, nine double faults and a poor 33 return percentage.
Cilic will meet Anderson for the second time, the head to head series having gone 1-0 to the world number 25 Croat whose only win comes from the 2009 Australian Open.
China Open Prize Money and points:
Winner – $505,000 and 500 points ATP
Runner up – $234,000 and 300 points ATP
Semi finalist – $110,000 and 180 points ATP
Quarter finalist – $52,520 and 90 points ATP
R16 – $26,810 and 45 points ATP
R32 – $14,710 and zero points
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