2011 Heineken Open: David Nalbandian cruises into final
Argentinean David Nalbandian made his way into the final of the 2011 Heineken Open tennis tournament on Friday.
Former world number three reached the title battle after brushing aside his second seed foe Nicolas Almagro of Spain in two sets, 6-4, 6-2 in less than 90 minutes.
“I know that I have to play my tennis. If I play good and with confidence it’s tough for the opponents so I have to keep going,” reflected the Argentinean after his victory.
Nalbandian, who achieved his career-high ranking of world number three back in 2006, converted three of his six break point chances to get past his foe in Auckland.
The world number 27 did not have a strong start however, as the match progressed, the right-hander improved his game and got his first break point chance during the ninth game. Nalbandian made no mistake and duly converted it and went into the second set after clinching the first set.
In the second set, the Argentinean continued his dominance and thus broke his opponent during the first game, followed by another break in the seventh game to further push back the Spaniard. He wasted no time afterwards and confirmed his spot in the title battle by taking the second set and match comfortably.
Nalbandian will now take on tournament’s top seed David Ferrer in the final on Saturday. It will be his first title battle since Washington 2010 and 22nd overall on the tour.
Despite the fact that Ferrer leads their head-to-head record at 6-5, Nalbandian has triumphed in their last three clashes and is enjoying an excellent form at the moment.
While commenting on his final opponent, the Argentinean said, “Always when we play together it is a very tough match. Long ones, long rallies. It is going to be the same as the rest of the matches we have played before. I have to keep playing my way, my level, and try to win.”
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