Seppi Earns First Victory At Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Andreas Seppi got two monkeys off his back on Monday when he defeated Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-3 7-5 to become the first player to reach the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
The seventh-seeded Italian had never won a main draw match in his five previous visits to Dubai and he had lost all of his previous four matches against Mathieu.
In what was a closely contested match throughout, Seppi had an opportunity to claim victory when he held three match points on Mathieu’s serve at 5-4. And, although Mathieu fought off that challenge, he dropped his next service game to love to leave himself still without a win in his four tournaments this season.
Roberto Bautista Agut lined himself up for a possible clash with top seed Novak Djokovic when he defeated David Goffin 6-2 7-5. The Spaniard was broken as he served for the match at 5-3 before going on to claim victory.
Later on Monday, five-time winner and defending champion Roger Federer begins his campaign against Tunisian wild card Malek Jaziri, and India’s Somdev Devvarman plays Russian qualifier Igor Kunitsyn.
Six of the world’s top 10 are competing in Dubai this week, with world number one and three-time Dubai champion Novak Djokovic attempting to reclaim his crown against not only Federer but Sunday’s Marseilles winner Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Marseilles runner-up Tomas Berdych, 2013 Chennai champion Janko Tipsarevic and recent Rotterdam winner Juan Martin Del Potro.
The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, which continues until 2nd March, is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
For further information about the tournament phone the call centre on +971 4 4172415.
Emirate: Dubai
Date: Feb 25, 2013
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