2011 Heineken Open: David Nalbandian enters quarterfinals; Tommy Robredo and Albert Montanes crash out
As play wrapped up on the third day of 2011 Heineken Open, not many surprising results were seen. All the seeds managed to sail through with the exception of fourth seeded Spaniard Albert Montanes.
Playing his second match of 2011, David Nalbandian cruised into the quarterfinals after doing away with Philipp Petzschner in straight sets. Ranked twenty sixth in the world, Nalbandian kicked off 2011 when he played Fabio Fognini for their first round clash
at the Auckland event. Petzschner, on the other hand, is playing at his second event of the year. He earlier competed at the Brisbane event last week though he was ousted there by sixth seed Feliciano Lopez in the first round. Playing at Auckland this week,
Petzschner drew against Thiemo de Bakker in the first round. Playing a three setter against the Dutch, Petzschner was able to secure a spot for himself in the second round.
After a hard fought battle, Nalbandian was able to defeat Fognini in straight, yet not so simple, sets registering 7-6(3), 6-4. Nalbandian moved ahead to meet Petzschner for their first ever meeting on the ATP Tour.
Winning the toss, Nalbandian opened serve and rushed to a 3-0 lead. Only managing two wins in the next five games, Nalbandian had his lead reduced by one game though he still led 5-3 in the score. Serving for the ninth game, Nalbandian served a well placed
ace on 40-0 to clinch the first set 6-3.
Petzschner opened serve in the second set and won the tenth game. However, the German failed to win any more games for the next five games giving Nalbandian a 5-1 lead. Losing the sixteenth and then winning the seventeenth on his service, Nalbandian secured
a 6-2 victory in the second set, thus ensuring a spot for himself in the quarterfinal round.
Winning his match, Nalbandian said, "I played very good tennis today: it was much better than yesterday and it will give me confidence." Nalbandian moves ahead to play either defending champion John Isner or Robin Haase.
Joining Nalbandian in the quarterfinal round was Colombian pro Santiago Giraldo. Coming from a quarterfinal run at the Brisbane event last week, Giraldo was able to make it to his second quarterfinal of the year after he won his second round clash at Auckland.
The Colombian opened his title run at Auckland on Monday playing against Daniel Gimeno-Traver. Enjoying a 6-2, 6-4 victory over the Spaniard, Giraldo was able to setup a second round clash with Gimeno-Traver’s compatriot, fourth seed Albert Montanes. This
was Montanes' first match of the event after having received a bye into the second round. Giraldo opened serve in the opener and rushed into the lead to clinch the first set 6-3. However, he was unable to maintain his form losing the second set 4-6. With one
set each to both players, the match entered the decider where Giraldo successfully turned the tables and reversed the score 6-4 to move ahead in the event.
Giraldo now moves ahead to face seventh seed Thomaz Bellucci, who himself moved into the quarterfinals on Wednesday after defeating 2007 finalist Tommy Robredo. Bellucci debuted in Auckland in 2010 but failed to make it past the second round losing to Philipp
Kohlschrieber then. Robredo, on the other hand, is putting in his third participation at the event after having debuted in 2007. Robredo was drawn as the top seed in 2007 and he enjoyed a final run at the event in that year before losing to champion and compatriot
David Ferrer. Returning to the event in 2010, Robredo wasn’t quite as lucky since he was ousted in the quarterfinal round by eventual champion John Isner.
Playing for the second time on the ATP Tour, Bellucci was able to level his head to head score against Robredo to 1-1. In a hard fought battle between the two on Wednesday, Bellucci was able to win the opener 6-4 though he failed to maintain his form losing
3-6 in the second set. Bouncing back in the decider, Bellucci rushed into the lead and secured a breadstick win to ensure his run in the event.
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