Chela triumphs on Houston clay
Source: Agencies |
April 13, 2010, Tuesday
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JUAN Ignacio Chela of Argentina won his first tournament in over three years with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory over American Sam Querrey at the US Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston on Sunday.
The unseeded Argentine pulled away from the hard-serving Querrey in the second set for his fifth tour championship and his first since beating Carlos Moya at Acapulco in March 2007.
"I was feeling strong, but I did notice that he was starting to get tired so I started to have a lot of chances in the third set," Chela said. "I didn't take all of them but due to his fatigue."
Ranked 82nd in the world, Chela stayed steady on his favorite surface and wrapped up the title on the first match point when Querrey returned a serve out of bounds. Chela earned US$79,900 and Querrey took home US$42,000.
Querrey, ranked No. 25, hit 19 winners to two for Chela in the first set. By the end of the second set, Chela was matching Querrey winner for winner.
"He was playing aggressive and I was playing defensive," Chela said. "I did get aggressive at times. After I lost the first set, I figured I had to play a little more aggressive otherwise playing so defensive, I wasn't going to win it."
Chela started to take control in the ninth game of the second set when he held after Querrey hit four straight errors. Querrey served two aces in the 10th game but he also double faulted and lost the first set point with a forehand that sailed out of bounds.
Querrey held his serve after two break points in the third set to even the games at 3-3. That was his last charge. Chela held in the seventh game and broke Querrey at love in the eighth game. Querrey won just one point in the final game.
Chela beat fourth-seeded defending champion Lleyton Hewitt of Australia and sixth-seeded Horacio Zeballos of Argentina en route to the finals.
"Once I won my first match, I started feeling confident," he said. "Then as I got closer to the end I did feel like I could take it."
In Ponte Vedra, Florida, top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki took advantage of Olga Gorvotsova's numerous mistakes and successfully defended her title in the MPS Group Championships with a 6-2, 7-5 victory.
Gorvotsova, who had 41 unforced errors, committed five of her eight double faults in the first set, but then jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set against the second-ranked player in the world.
The unseeded Argentine pulled away from the hard-serving Querrey in the second set for his fifth tour championship and his first since beating Carlos Moya at Acapulco in March 2007.
"I was feeling strong, but I did notice that he was starting to get tired so I started to have a lot of chances in the third set," Chela said. "I didn't take all of them but due to his fatigue."
Ranked 82nd in the world, Chela stayed steady on his favorite surface and wrapped up the title on the first match point when Querrey returned a serve out of bounds. Chela earned US$79,900 and Querrey took home US$42,000.
Querrey, ranked No. 25, hit 19 winners to two for Chela in the first set. By the end of the second set, Chela was matching Querrey winner for winner.
"He was playing aggressive and I was playing defensive," Chela said. "I did get aggressive at times. After I lost the first set, I figured I had to play a little more aggressive otherwise playing so defensive, I wasn't going to win it."
Chela started to take control in the ninth game of the second set when he held after Querrey hit four straight errors. Querrey served two aces in the 10th game but he also double faulted and lost the first set point with a forehand that sailed out of bounds.
Querrey held his serve after two break points in the third set to even the games at 3-3. That was his last charge. Chela held in the seventh game and broke Querrey at love in the eighth game. Querrey won just one point in the final game.
Chela beat fourth-seeded defending champion Lleyton Hewitt of Australia and sixth-seeded Horacio Zeballos of Argentina en route to the finals.
"Once I won my first match, I started feeling confident," he said. "Then as I got closer to the end I did feel like I could take it."
In Ponte Vedra, Florida, top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki took advantage of Olga Gorvotsova's numerous mistakes and successfully defended her title in the MPS Group Championships with a 6-2, 7-5 victory.
Gorvotsova, who had 41 unforced errors, committed five of her eight double faults in the first set, but then jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set against the second-ranked player in the world.
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