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2/12/09 2:06 AM | Ricky Dimon
Sam Querrey prevails in a marquee matchup with Marcos Baghdatis in the first round of the SAP Open, but not before a third-set tiebreaker becomes necessary to decide things.
Sam Querrey survived an extremely tough first-round thriller against Marcos Baghdatis on Wednesday night at San Jose's SAP Open. The 6'6'' American needed one hour and 58 minutes to oust Baghdatis 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(5) and book his place in the second round, where he will take on German Denis Gremelmayr.
It looked like it would be a little bit easier for Querrey after one set. A single break of serve was enough for the No. 6 seed to cruise through the opening frame of play because he won all 13 of his first-serve points and only lost a total of four points in five service games. Baghdatis' 45-percent serving did not help his chances in the first set.
Both men improved their return games in the second, and two breaks of serve were exchanged until 5-5. Baghdatis started to get a much better read on Querrey's first serve and it paid off in the form of his second break of the match at 6-5.
That set up the tense final set, which was dominated by the servers for twelve games on the way to the tiebreaker. Baghdatis did not lose a single point in the third when he put in his first serve. Querrey, in turn, won 18 of 20 first-serve points en route to the 'breaker and neither man faced a break point. The decider, however, was far less straightforward. Baghdatis jumped out to a seemingly insurmountable 4-0 lead, taking the second and third points on Querrey's serve, but his opponent returned the favor by winning four straight points of his own. After Baghdatis took care of a service point for 5-4, he got two looks at second serves but missed both chances. At 6-5, Querrey capitalized on his first match point to secure a spot in the second round.
Querrey, who fired 16 aces in the victory, and Gremelmayr have square off once before. The encounter came exactly one year ago in the first round of this same San Jose event, and Querrey prevailed 6-3 in the third.
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