Results - Friday August 14, 2009

No. 2 seed Capdeville defeats Bubka in straight sets

by Jeffrey Dunham
Aug 14, 11:33 pm EDT

Paul Capdeville

Defending LG&T champion Paul Capdeville of Chile defeated Ukraine’s Sergei Bubka in humid conditions today, 6-4, 6-3. The 22 year-old Bubka, ranked No. 186, has enjoyed success on the Challenger level this year. He reached the quarterfinals at Vancouver, the semifinals in Nottingham, and won Kyoto, Japan, where he defeated two-time LG&T champ Takao Suzuki.

The match proceeded on serve in the first set until 3-3, when Bubka hit a forehand wide to give Capdeville a break point. Capdeville then broke with an acutely-angled crosscourt backhand passing shot that Bubka could not handle. Capdeville went on to hold serve at love for 5-3, punctuating the final point with an ace.

Sergei Bubka

In the opening game of the second set, a backhand down the line error by Bubka gave Capdeville a break opportunity right away. An incredibly long rally saved break point for Bubka as Capdeville finally succumbed and hit a passing shot into the net when Bubka approached out of desperation to end the point. Bubka went down break point again at 1-1 on a backhand error, but saved it with a drop shot and volley combination only to hit another erroneous forehand and give Capdeville the crucial second set break. Numerous errors by Bubka gave Capdeville several opportunities for a second break, but his first serve usually bailed him out. However, with Bubka serving at 3-5, Capdeville’s aggressive returning became too much for Bubka, as he faced double match point. Unfortunately, the match was then decided when Bubka surrendered rather meekly with a double fault.

Capdeville’s steady, flat groundstrokes were patiently and deliberately executed in a manner that often frustrated his younger opponent. Often seeming to lack passion, Capdeville did cry out in frustration over a couple of disputed line calls in this match. Perhaps this kind of show of emotion is just what the Chilean needs to get the crowd on his side and repeat as champion this year.