Kovacevic edges past Balshaw 6-4 7-6 in Winston-Salem

Aleksandar Kovacevic came through a tight straight-setter against Felix Balshaw, 6-4 7-6, in the Winston-Salem round of 64. The American's serve was the difference on a day when neither man found much rhythm on first delivery: Kovacevic landed just 56.5 percent of them but won a remarkable 94.3 percent of those points, and he took 66.7 percent behind his second ball. Balshaw served solidly too, with four aces, a 57.6 percent first-serve rate and 82.4 percent of first-serve points won, but his 64.0 percent on second serve left less margin. Kovacevic's nine aces and only three double faults saw him safely into the next round.