Philipp Kohlschreiber survived a scare as he made very hard work of the Czech Republic’s no. 2 player Lukas Rosol in the first match of the Davis Cup First Round tie, eventually winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in Hannover.
It was absolutely imperative that Kohlschreiber got Germany off to a winning start as Czech Republic, with the services of Top Ten star Tomas Berdych to call upon, were and still are, clear favourites in the tie.
The first set did not go according to plan for the German No.1 player however, as he surrendered an early break to Rosol. The Czech meanwhile was dominant on serve losing just three points on his first serve, and just two (both double-faults) on his second. Rosol had a further break point at five-two, but Kohlschreiber held to ensure that after he Rosol held for the first set that he would get the chance to serve first in the second.
The second set did change things. Rosol surrendered far more points as his attacking style began to fall, conceding fourteen unforced errors, more than twice the number from Kohlschreiber. Both men hit four winners, so it was the error count that saw Kohlschreiber quickly level up, having not dropped a point from seventeen on his first serve.
Kohlschrieber continued the incredible trend, as he held every point on his first serve for a second consecutive set. In a narrow set, Kohlschreiber found a late break, and it seemed that the match would finish as predicted, with a win for the German.
Rosol had other ideas though, as the tables turned, and Kohlschreiber found his game leaking unforced errors, fifteen to Rosol’s nine. Rosol, noting Kohlschreiber’s drop in form, tempered his own game, allowing the mistakes to flow. This earned him two breaks, one of them in the final game of the set, forcing a decider.
It was Kohlschreiber who finally made the definitive breakthrough, turning his game around from the poor showing of the fourth set, he wore a tiring Rosol down, taking control with his forehand, thirteen winners aiding his quest for victory. Rosol could not stop the barrage, and his game , built more for attack than defence, simply could not cope. Kohlschreiber earned two breaks, and could have enjoyed more, but settled for the pair, earning the second in the final game.
Kohlschreiber now owns a 5-1 lead over Rosol in their career head-to-head. This was the first time in three meetings in a best-of-five set encounter that Rosol was able to take a set or more from Kohlschreiber, having lost in straight sets in previous meetings at the US Open and Wimbledon.
Alexander Zverev and Tomas Berdych are next up on court, before the doubles tomorrow, and the reverse singles on Sunday.
