Wildcard Sam Groth has become the third Australian into the quarterfinals of Brisbane International 2014 after saving a match point to record a stirring 4-6 7-6(3) 7-6(5) victory over lucky loser Pierre-Hugues Herbert in a match that finished at 12.50 am on Friday morning at Pat Rafter Arena.
With a grand total of only 11 career matches between them at the top level and each with world rankings well north of No.100, the match pitched two players somewhat lacking in experience on the big stage.
What unfolded belied all that, however, as the two players put on a performance that was arguably the high point of the tournament so far.
“I think I’ve managed to keep my head pretty well in the tiebreaks and came up with a pretty good volley there at 4-5,” said Groth.
“I’m going to play a lot of tiebreaks the way I play.”
“Obviously there’s ebbs and flows in matches … I struggled a bit early but I managed to find my serve and I won the last point, which is what counts.”
In retrospect, the quality of the match was no real surprise. Groth’s massive world-record breaking serve has been the talk of the tournament, and the Frenchman has some tricks of his own, most notably on display during the 2013 Paris Masters, where he won his first-round match for the loss of only four games before holding set points against Novak Djokovic.
To add to the intrigue, Herbert only found himself on court tonight as the luckiest of lucky losers, with the withdrawal of fourth seed Kevin Anderson placing him directly into the second round as Anderson had an opening round bye and was yet to play a match.
On getting the call-up, Herbert was forced to hightail it back from his stay on the Sunshine Coast in time to face the Aussie.
Despite the late arrival, Herbert began the match looking relaxed and moved around the court smoothly. Importantly, he handled the Groth serve with aplomb, picking it well and putting the Aussie under constant pressure on the return. An early break was all the Frenchman needed as he cruised through the first set 6-4.
Groth responded quickly in the second, holding to love in the opening game and then immediately breaking Herbert to snatch an early lead. It was short-lived however, as a string of four consecutive breaks culminated in the Australian smashing a racket in disgust. The set eventually reached a tiebreak, which Groth controlled easily to take the match into a decider.
The big Australian then muscled his way through an enthralling final set, and despite having to navigate numerous anxious moments including saving a match point with a spectacular volley – he eventually got past the young Frenchman in a pulsating tiebreaker.
After the match, Groth talked about his achievement in reaching his first ATP quarterfinal and thanked the crowd for staying out late to support him.
He next faces another Frenchman in eighth seed Jeremy Chardy.
As well as his first ATP quarterfinal, Groth’s ranking is projected to rise to around No.150 for the first time in his career.
“It’s a great start [to the season]. My first ATP quarterfinal and it looks like I got a bit of a lucky break that Kevin [Anderson] was sick tonight but you’ve still got to come out and win the match.”