Del Potro wins 2nd straight Estoril Open

OEIRAS, Portugal (AP)

        Argentina's Juan del Potro won his second consecutive Estoril Open title, using a strong serve to beat France's Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-2 Sunday.

       

         Del Potro, seeded first and ranked 12th, won his second title of the year and 11th of his career.

''I felt it was my best match of the week,'' Del Potro said. ''I felt really confident on my forehand and I grew in confidence every game.''

          Gasquet, seeded second, also lost this clay-court final in 2007 when he faced Novak Djokovic. He dropped serve early in both sets. Del Potro didn't give up a break chance in the match and had six aces in improving his record against Gasquet to 4-1.

          ''He's very tall and has a good second serve and was hitting the ball very well,'' Gasquet said. ''He was the better player today.''

Aussie Groth Hits Speedy Serves

by ATP Staff12.05.2012

Australian Samuel Groth hit an ace recorded at 163.4 mph (263 kph) Wednesday during an ATP Challenger event in Busan, South Korea. The serve, which came during Groth’s second-round defeat to Belarusian Uladzimir Ignatik, is the fastest ever recorded at a professional tennis event.

The ATP does not officially recognise service speed records because of the variance in radar guns, but confirmed that the event was using approved equipment, and that other data gathered appeared within a normal range.

Currently, the fastest-recorded serve at an ATP World Tour or Davis Cup level event is a 156 mph (251 kph) rocket hit by Croatian Ivo Karlovic during a Davis Cup tie between Croatia and Germany in Zagreb in March, 2011.

Groth hit two other serves recorded at 157.5 mph (253.5 kph) and 158.9 mph (255.7 kph) respectively in the same match.

Groth (@samuelgroth on Twitter), No. 340 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, tweeted after the match: 'Lost 4&3 average! Did hit a 263kmh serve though in for an ace.' The 24 year old reached the Challenger final in Burnie, Australia, in February and the semi-finals of the Kyoto Challenger in Japan in March.