INDIANAPOLIS, July 18: Top-seeded James Blake struggled early in the first set and fended off two set points in the second before defeating Jun Woong-sun of South Korea 6-3, 7-5 in the second round at the Indianapolis Tennis Championships on Thursday.
Blake, ranked eighth in the world, got off to a similarly slow start in a 7-6 (2), 6-2 win against Dudi Sela on Tuesday.
“I definitely don’t feel like this was my best match, but it got me through,” he said. “That’s the most important thing. Sometimes, these matches are more important to win than the ones where you’re playing well.
“When you can manage to win the ones where you’re not playing your best, it gives you the opportunity to play well the next day.”
Blake advanced to play Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan in the quarter-finals. Lu defeated American Rajeev Ram 6-1, 7-6 (1).
Fourth-seeded Sam Querrey rallied to beat compatriot Vincent Spadea 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the night match to earn a quarter-final against fellow American Bobby Reynolds, a 6-1, 6-1 winner over Alejandro Falla of Colombia.
Blake led Jun 4-3 in the first set before closing it out. In the second set, Jun had set point when Blake got an ace, then won the next three points to tie the set at 5-all. He handled the final two games, and clinched the match with his 10th ace.
“He gave me a little scare in the second set,” Blake stated. “I think it had a little more to do with me than him.”
Blake added that he was too cautious against a man he’s never played.
“I definitely shouldn’t have had as much trouble as I did today,” he said. “I was probably feeling him out a little too much and not necessarily playing my game and playing a little passive.”
In doubles, Scott Lipsky and David Martin defeated Daniel Nestor and Frederic Niemeyer 6-1, 7-6(4), and Ashley Fisher and Tripp Phillips defeated the pair of India’s Rohan Bopanna and Pakistan’s Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi 6-2, 1-0 after Bopanna retired with a back injury.
Results (prefix number denotes seeding):
Second round: 4-Sam Querrey (US) bt Vince Spadea (US) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4; Lu Yen-Hsun (Taiwan) bt Rajeev Ram (US) 6-1, 7-6(1); Bobby Reynolds (US) bt Alejandro Falla (Colombia) 6-1, 6-1; 1-James Blake (US) bt Jun Woong-Sun (South Korea) 6-3, 7-5.
STOSUR DOWNS ZVONAREVA
STANFORD (California): Australian Samantha Stosur upset third seed Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2 in the second round of the Stanford Classic on Thursday.
Stosur, who got her place in the tournament after Lindsay Davenport pulled out, quickly found her stride and overpowered Zvonareva with a huge serve and clean groundstrokes.
The 24-year-old Stosur, who was sidelined by lyme disease from September through April but returned to win the Wimbledon mixed doubles title earlier this month with Bob Bryan, said that she was encouraged by her progress.
Stosur will face Aleksandra Wozniak in the quarter-finals after the Canadian beat Sybille Bammer of Austria 6-4, 7-5.
Fifth seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland advanced with a 7-6, 6-4 win over Russian Alisa Kleybanova, earning herself a match-up with top seed Serena Williams in the quarter-finals.
Sixth seed Marion Bartoli of France came back from 1-4 deficit and two breaks down in the final set to beat Britain’s Anne Keothavong 6-3, 1-6, 7-5.
Results:
Second round: Samantha Stosur (Australia) bt 3-Vera Zvonareva (Russia) 6-3, 6-2; 6-Marion Bartoli (France) bt Anne Keothavong (Britain) 6-3, 1-6, 7-5; 5-Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) bt Alisa Kleybanova (Russia) 7-6(8), 6-4; Aleksandra Wozniak (Canada) bt Sybille Bammer (Austria) 6-4, 7-5.—Agencies
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