Author: Barkha Roy
In a very tight first round qualifying match on Monday, Jelle Sels of the Netherlands faced a tough challenge from Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild, the 21st seed, and ended up losing 4-6 and 4-6. Sels served 8 aces, but struggled with 3 double faults. While Sels had a 62% first serve percentage, Wild performed better, with 70%.
Wild won 71% of his first serves compared to Sels’ 74%, but his second serve win rate of 76% beat Sels’ 43%. Wild took 2 of his 4 break point opportunities. Despite Sels’ efforts, Wild emerged victorious with 70 points and 12 games won.
Brazilian Felipe Alves, the 20th seed, beat Canadian Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 7-6 in the first round of qualifying. While Alves didn’t register any aces, Pospisil managed 5, but also had 5 double faults compared to 1 for Alves. Alves dominated with an impressive 85% first serve percentage, beating Pospisil’s 58%.
Despite Pospisil’s higher winning percentage on his first serve (74% against his opponent’s 72%), Alves had a stronger second serve win rate of 70% compared to Pospisil’s 60%. Alves took 2 out of 4 break point opportunities, while Pospisil failed to convert any of his 3 chances. Alves secured a crucial win in the tiebreak and showed consistency in the reception points he won (22 against Pospisil’s 21). Overall, Alves emerged victorious with 73 points and 13 games won.
Felipe Alves returned to the courts on Wednesday for his second round qualifying match against Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas, a match the Brazilian won in two straight sets 6-4 and 7-6. Cuevas hit 9 aces but committed a double fault, while Alves recorded 4 aces and no double faults. Despite Cuevas’ best efforts, he struggled to convert break points, with 0 out of 7, while Alves took 1 out of 7 opportunities.
Alves had a slightly higher first serve percentage, 72%, compared to Cuevas’ 69%, with both players posting solid first serve winning percentages. Alves emerged victorious with 82 points in total, securing 13 games, while Cuevas managed 74 points and 10 games.
In the women’s qualifying draw for the first round, Russia’s Vera Zvonareva won a hard-fought victory over Brazil’s 26th-ranked Laura Pigossi 5-7, 7-6, 6-2. Zvonareva didn’t register any aces, while Pigossi managed 2. Both players faced challenges with double faults, as Zvonareva committed 2 and Pigossi had 4. They had an equal percentage of 79% of first-time withdrawals. Zvonareva secured 6 out of 15 break point opportunities, while Pigossi took 5 out of 9. The greater number of reception points won by Zvonareva (55 against Pigossi’s 44) contributed to her overall victory, with 121 points won against Pigossi’s 110.
In another first-round qualifying match, Brazil’s Carolina Alves suffered a comprehensive defeat against Italian 18th seed Lucrezia Stefanini, 1-6, 2-6. Both players didn’t register any aces, and Alves committed a double fault compared to Stefanini’s single fault. Remarkably, they both had an impressive 89% first serve percentage. However, Stefanini dominated the match, winning 68% of the points on his first serve, compared to Alves’ 46%.
Stefanini also outplayed Alves on the second serve, winning 75% of the points compared to Alves’ 25%. Stefanini took 5 of 10 break point opportunities, while Alves converted just 1 of 2. Stefanini’s strong reception game was evident, as she won 26 reception points against 15 from Alves. Overall, Stefanini emerged victorious with 57 points, compared to Alves’ 35, securing 12 games, while Alves managed 3.