Help
10/13/09 5:22 AM | Cheryl Murray
Marat Safin had a good start to his last Asian ATP tournament with a tidy win over Chinese wildcard Mao-Xin Gong.
Marat Safin def. Mao-Xin Gong 6-4, 6-4
China’s Mao-Xin Gong comported himself well against the much higher ranked Marat Safin in front of the home crowd in Shanghai on Monday. Gong is ranked 541 in the world to Safin’s 86 – and yet he managed to traverse the opening set of their first round match with a single service break. The Chinaman had no answer for Safin’s booming serve, but he managed to hold his own serve with admirable ease. The second set was perhaps even more impressive for Gong. He managed to secure a service break from the Russian. The problem was that he surrendered two of his own to lose the match in straight sets. Safin, who is playing his last year on the ATP tour, will head into the second round against the winner of the Marin Cilic-Tomas Berdych match.
Rainer Schuettler def. Martin Vassallo Arguello 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2)
Germany’s Rainer Schuettler finds himself in the second round after dispatching Argentina’s Martin Vassallo Arguello in three sets. Schuettler, the 2003 Australian Open finalist, has seen his ranking slip to No. 99 in the world. Inconsistent play and injuries have plagued the German over the past few years, but he clearly has enough tennis left in him to defeat a clay courter on a fast hard court. The German played a weak middle set on Monday. He allowed Vassallo Arguello to break him twice there to level the match at a set a piece. The two men traded breaks of serve in the third set to force a tiebreaker. Schuettler, who has the better game for hard courts, prevailed easily in the breaker.
Tell a friend »
Scan QR code to access Unibet mobile.
Bet on Sports wherever you are and whenever you like, with Unibet's quick and simple mobile client you can place bets, check results and see live odds.
For more info about QR codes & scanners click here.
Contact us
/ About us
/ Cookies
/ Recommended links
/ Advertise
/ Sitemap
Tennistalk v1.5.0
Disclaimer © 2001-2012, Moneytainment Media Ltd - All rights reserved
