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3/18/09 11:11 PM | James Munoz
In a match that should have been played on Stadium 1, Spaniard Fernando Verdasco and German Philipp Kohlschreiber battled to the delight of a capacity crowd on Stadium 2.
The match had an odd beginning as both men were broken in their opening service games. Kohlschreiber started out the match and was unable to find his footing from the baseline early on. Verdasco followed his break with a less than stellar service game that resulted in him dropping serve as well. The remainder of the first set would be steady, but not spectacular tennis as Verdasco would take the set 6-4.
Kohlschreiber for his part offered far more resistance than Fernando’s previous opponent. He tried everything he could before he ran out of gas in the third set. Verdasco, while not as brutal as Rafael Nadal, hit many spectacular shots but also several mishits. Not all of the mishits resulted in unforced errors and the ones that didn’t were often punished by Kohlschreiber.
The German served a great match for as long as he could and this helped to tame the aggressiveness of his opponent. By taking his opportunities he was able to take an insurmountable lead of five games to love in the second set. Kohlschreiber took his cuts on Verdasco’s first serve and won a very impressive seven of the 14 points in taking two breaks in the set. Verdasco came back to win three games in the set, but Kohlshcreiber was able to take close it out in the ninth game.
Verdasco came out of the third set on a mission. Knowing his hard work in the offseason and after the Australian Open would pay dividends, he confidently served 79% first serve and won 14 of the 15 first serve points in the third set (he also did this in the first set). Verdasco’s focus though was not more clear then in the unforced errors department, where he committed a mere two for the third set. This did not go unnoticed by his opponent who was struggling to keep his form. The third set would see Fernando winning 26 of the 36 points played (72%).
Verdasco is feeling at home in the hot and sunny weather at the BNP Paribas Open. His February training in Las Vegas with Gil Reyes, Andre Agassi and Darren Cahill improved his confidence even as he was recovering from a left ankle injury. Look for him to trouble Roger Federer in the next round as he now believes he can compete with the world’s best for an extended period of time.
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Go Roger go! Fernando is not going to make it easy.
sky , 3/19/09 3:19 AM