2010 Valencia Open; Fernando Verdasco, Stanislas Wawrinka and Gilles Simon advances in Spain
The seventh ranked Fernando Verdasco started his 2010 Valencia Open tournament campaign with a two-setter victory over Michael Russell, a qualifier from the United States of America on Monday. The final score line was 6-4, 6-1.
The professional tennis player from Spain, as a result of this victory, has also improved his chances of qualifying for the year ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. He slipped out of the top eight qualification spots to number nine in the season-to-date ATP Rankings after a torrid Asian swing, when he was defeated in the first round in Bangkok, Beijing and Shanghai.
However, it seems like the right-hander is making up for it and is looking in good shape - at the moment - to earn his position at the yearend Finale on the second occasion in a row.
After missing an early break advantage versus Michael, the number three seed Fernando quickly regained the lead to take the opening set, before breaking serve on three more occasions in the following set to seal win in the end. The battle stretched over a period of seventy-four minutes on Monday.
Verdasco, as a result of this win, has improved his win loss mark to 42-20 on the season. He bagged two trophies in San Jose and Barcelona along with a runner-up performance in Monte-Carlo and Nice.
Meanwhile, the world number twenty-one Stanislas Wawrinka also won his first round match with a straight set victory over Andreas Seppi of Italy on Monday. The final score line was 7-6(2), 7-5. The second highest ranked Swiss bounced back from a deficit of 3-5 in the opening set before taking the ensuing tiebreak. The professional tennis player from Switzerland then broke serve decisively during the eleventh game of the second set to seal win on his debut on Monday. He closed out the clash in two hours in Valencia.
The 25 years old, Stanislas, as a result of this victory, has improved to a match record of 34-17 on the year, highlighted by his trophy in Casablanca where he got the better of Hanescu in straight sets.
The French tennis player, Gilles Simon also posted his 20th match victory of the year by overpowering Sergiy Stakhovsky in two sets on Monday. The final score line was 6-3, 6-3. Former world number three Gilles has struggled in 2010 due to his knee injury; however, he captured a single crown in his home country Metz last month.
In the doubles action, d**k Norman and Wesley Moodie, who are currently ranked number seven in the ATP Doubles ranking, surpassed Santiago Ventura and Nicolas Almagro in three sets. The final score line was 6-3, 7-6(1). The clash concluded in a time of seventy-six minutes in Valencia. The Belgian-South African pair is making their team debut in Valencia and is attempting to improve their chances of qualifying for the year ending finale by capturing their maiden ATP World Tour crown of the year this week.
Elsewhere, Michal Mertinak and Frantisek Cermak, who won the Valencia tournament last year, brushed aside the Brazilian pair of Bruno Soares and Marcelo Melo in three sets on Monday. The final match score was 6-2, 3-6, 10-6. The clash stretched over a period of seventy-two minutes. The Slovakian-Czech duo is hoping to make the trip to The O2 in London on the second occasion in a row. They are currently ranked number twelve in the ATP Doubles list.
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