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Vesely makes early exit after defeat

By Editor
13 January 2016   |   1:37 am
Jiri Vesely’s, hopes of defending his Auckland Classic title disappeared in the first round yesterday when he was bundled out in straight sets by eighth-seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain. On a rain-disrupted second day that saw no matches completed during the day session, Bautista Agut made up time in the evening by taking just…
Vesely PHOTO:AFP

Vesely                                                                        PHOTO:AFP

Jiri Vesely’s, hopes of defending his Auckland Classic title disappeared in the first round yesterday when he was bundled out in straight sets by eighth-seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain.

On a rain-disrupted second day that saw no matches completed during the day session, Bautista Agut made up time in the evening by taking just 76 minutes to dispose of Vesely 6-3, 7-5.

Former tournament champion Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany had the worst of the rain disruptions, though he managed to turn it to his advantage.

He was trailing compatriot Benjamin Becker 0-30 in the first game when the rain sent the players off the court and they did not resume until nearly six hours later when Kohlschreiber claimed a 7-6 (10/8), 6-3 victory.He said the long weather disruption made it a tough day.

“You eat, you wait and you try to relax as much as you can. We had a very short start on Centre Court, but for everybody it was a very long day,” he said.

“The start was slow, he served very well in the beginning and we didn’t have long rallies, but overall, there were some very good points in the match.”

Kohlschreiber, who was also a finalist in Auckland in 2013, believes the match has set him up nicely for his second-round clash against No 2 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.

“I have one more match under my belt and it’s always good to play the big guys in the early rounds because when they build up their confidence they’re very tough to beat, especially strong players with an aggressive game.”

American Sam Querrey advanced to the second round when Great Britain’s Aljaz Bedene retired with an injury early in the deciding third set.

Bedenehad taken the first set on a 7/7 tie-break and Querrey came back to win the second set tie-break 12-10 and was up 2-1 in the third when the London-based Bedene pulled out.

The four tournament drawcards – David Ferrer, who is chasing a fifth title, Tsonga, John Isner and Kevin Anderson – all had first-round byes and will make the opening appearances on Wednesday. Culled from SuperSports.com

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