ATP Rotterdam: Fourth Seed David Goffin Upset By Marcos Baghdatis

Day two at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam featured a packed schedule. Two seeds in the singles draw started their respective campaigns alongside three of the four top seeded doubles pairings.

Highly-Rated Youngster Hyeon Chung Wins Thriller

Up and coming youngster Hyeon Chung defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in a three-set thriller in the opening match on Court One. The 19-year-old Korean had surrendered a 3-0 lead in the first set, going on to lose the opener 5-7. He would recover well to secure the victory in just under three hours of play at 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

The first set featured five breaks of serve with the more experienced Garcia-Lopez being broken twice in early succession, before causing a huge momentum shift to win the first set after breaking back three times. The second set was very similar to the first with Chung securing two consecutive breaks of serve to race into a 4-0 lead. He wasted the first opportunity to serve to draw the match even, but took the match to a decider after saving a break point at the second time of asking.

After missing four chances to gain the early advantage in the final set, Chung did break through in the fifth game and then held for a 4-2 lead. Garcia-Lopez broke back two games later and must have felt as though he could go on to win, only to hand the break straight back to the Korean. After winning a vital point at 30-30, Chung clinched the win on his first match point to record only his second main draw win at an ATP 500 level tournament.

Baghdatis Knocks Out Goffin

Baghdatis in action (Photo: Getty Images - Koen Suyk) — Baghdatis in action (Photo: Getty Images/Koen Suyk)

David Goffin became the second seeded player to exit Rotterdam this week, as Marcos Baghdatis won a topsy-turvy encounter to extend his lead in their head-to-head to 4-1. The Cypriot started brilliantly and raced into a 5-0 lead before Goffin registered his first game. It was too late to salvage anything from the opening set, which Baghdatis claimed in quick fashion. The second set was anything but quick, as eleven consecutive holds between both players made a tie-breaker likely. The 61st ranked Cypriot had created the only break point opportunities in the set, but was forced into a third set after Goffin seized upon his second break opportunity of the 12th game.

The Belgian saved an all-important early break point on his serve, but was broken only two service games later to seemingly give away the vital break of the match. Baghdatis failed to nail down his advantage though and was immediately broken himself to make the score 3-3. He had a chance to break and serve for the match at 4-4, but missed five chances including three from 0-40 up. This appeared to be his last chance to win as Goffin held a strong 5-2 lead in the deciding tie-breaker. Baghdatis had other ideas. He would win five points in a row to secure an impressive victory against the much higher-ranked player 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (5).

Monfils Secures First Round Win

Monfils wins the entertaining battle (Photo: Getty Images - Koen Suyk) — Monfils wins the entertaining battle (Photo: Getty Images/Koen Suyk)

Goffin was the only seed to exit on day two as Gael Monfils saw off Ernests Gulbis in an entertaining clash by a score of 6-4, 6-4. The Frenchman prevailed in straight sets after winning 33 out of 43 points on serve and taking two of the four break points he created. In the first match of the day, Gilles Muller beat Andreas Seppi for the first time in four encounters. He came from a set-down to win 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4. Muller pounded 19 aces. The only other three-setter of the day came in the final match as Martin Klizan overcame Tommy Robredo is just over two hours 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3. In the clash of the tour veterans, Philipp Kohlschreiber defeated Julien Benneteau 6-4, 6-4 to earn a second round clash against Borna Coric.

In doubles action, two of the top four pairings won a place in the second round, but Jamie Murray and partner Daniel Nestor became the first seeded causalities. They were defeated by Philipp Petzschner and Alexander Peya.

Day Three Preview

The schedule for Wednesday is not as busy as today’s action, but still features two recent champions on the tour in Roberto Bautista Agut and Viktor Troicki. In fact, the pair faced each other in the Sofia final just last week and will look to continue their strong form in the Dutch city. Bautista Agut opens up play on Centre Court against Joao Sousa, with Troicki having to overcome Andrey Kuznetsov in the final match to take place on Court One.

Elsewhere Marin Cilic clashes with Gilles Muller in the first meeting between the big servers, while Ivan Dodig plays two matches in a day. He opens singles play on Court One against Philipp Kohlschreiber, before bringing the day session to a close in doubles with partner Marcelo Melo.