Queens: Querrey, Tsonga Reach Third Term
Querrey ousts Schuttler to reach third round
Sam Querrey has reached into the next term after surviving a midway scare against Rainer Schuttler whom he edged in three sets, 7-6, 5-7, 6-3.
The Swiss managed to push the opener into tie-break which he lost at the death, to six. Querre, who managed to create 16 break points, converted just a couple of them, grabbing the hard-fought victory in two hours and 20 minutes. Schuttler stole the second set, but was unable to set the same pace, allowing the 13th seed American to power through to an easy decider. Querrey will next play revelation James Ward who has provided the biggest surprise of the tournament when he ousted one of the main favorites and great-shaped players Stanislas Wawrinka. The hosts eliminated the Swiss in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3 to become a real threat for Querrey.
On the same first half of the table, Jo-wilfried Tsonga eased past Michael Berrer of Germany 6-0, 6-1 to meet compatriot Michael Llodra in the third round. Llodra follows a straight-set win over another French Julien Benneteau whom he sent packing 6-4, 7-5. Andy Roddick needed three sets to get rid of Feliciano Lopez who managed to stay in touch with the victory throughout the entire meeting. The American, who follows a long injury-break, hit 15 aces past the Spaniard who conceded the victory 6-7, 7-6, 4-6. Roddick was pushed to extremes in the opener, being forced to take the first lead after a tough first set.
Lopez lost the first tie-break of the meeting to two, but managed to level the score in the second term. The Spaniard pushed even the second set into a breaker which he won at the death, to five, to send the meeting into a third decider. Roddick’s late rally brought him a comfortable two-game lead after breaking his opponent early in the round. The American finished the game with a 85 percentage of service points and needed two hours and 15 minutes to make the progress.
“I didn’t enjoy it when I saw I might play him in the second round, I’ll tell you that much. I knew it was going to be tough. He a very good grass-court player. But I feel great on grass. This is one of my favourite tournaments in the world and I’m just so happy to be back here in London,” said the winner. Roddick will next play either Kevin Anderson or Donald Young. The French Open champion Rafa Nadal is to meet Matthew Ebden in the first round. The Aussie beat Somdev Devvarman 7-5, 6-3, while Nadal is favoured by a BYE.
Radek Stepanek and Ivan Ljubicic are also expected to provide a tough confrontation. The Czech eased past Go Soeda of Japan 6-1, 6-3 in the opener, while Ljubicic, who failed to make superior phases at the last week’s Rokand Garros, ousted Ryan Sweeting 7-6, 6-2. Juan Martin Del Potro has made an easy progress after outclassing Denis Istomin 6-4, 6-2 in the first term. The Argentine, winner of the 2009 US Open event, is to face Igor Kunitsyn who also made an easy advancement after his first term opponent Alex Bogomolov Jr. was forcedto abandon at 4-6, 6-6 down due to an injury.
Finally, Gilles Simon is to make his English debut against Adrian Mannarino who beat Ernests Gulbis 6-3, 6-3 in the first term. As for the second half of the table, Andy Murray who follows a semi final in Paris, will start the Queens on the second round. The Scott will meet Xavier Mallise who has already grabbed an easy win over Matthias Bachinger of Germany whom he eliminated 6-4, 6-4.
Janko Tipsarevic beat Blaz Kavcic 6-4, 6-4 in the opener and is to face Michael Russell who also grabbed a two-set victory over Denis Gremelmayr whom he upset 6-3, 7-5. Thomaz Bellucci set a Marsel Ilhan meeting in the second term. The Brazilian overcame Grigor Dimitrov after surviving an early scare. Bellucci managed to come from one set down to stun the Bulgarian 3-6, 7-6, 6-2. Ilhan beat Jan Hajek 6-4, 6-4, the winner between him and Bellucci being expected to face either Marin Cilic or Arnaud Clement. The French eliminated compatriot Benoit Paire 7-5, 6-3, while Cilic has been favored by a BYE.
Nicolas Mahut eased past Oliver Gilding of England 6-3, 6-4, but will surely have some hard times against favorite Fernando Verdasco who starts the event from the second term. Finally, David Nalbandian and Ilija Bozoljac will also fight for a spot into the third term. The Argentine defeated Illya Marchenko 6-3, 6-4 in the opener, while his next opponent overdone Mikhail Kukushkin 6-4, 6-4.
Queens ATP Prize Money:
Winner – 77,500 euro
Runner-up – 44,100 euro
Semi finalist – 25,500 euro
Quarter finalist – 15,000
R16 – 8,730 euro
R32 – 5,300 euro
R 56 – 3,23011
