Abierto Mexicano Telcel: Santiago Gonzalez, Lukasz Kubot advance to second round
Santiago Gonzalez defeats Daniel Garza 6-2, 7-6(5)
Mexican wild card, Santiago Gonzalez, scored a straight-sets victory over his compatriot and fellow wild card, Daniel Garza, in the first round of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.
The match, held at the Fairmont Acapulco Princess in Mexico, took a little over one hour and thirty minutes.
Gonzalez won the first set in just eight games, bombarding his opponent with three aces and seven break points. Although Garza managed to save five of seven break points easily, he could not prevent Gonzalez from converting the other two. Garza himself could
not challenge his compatriot to any break points, and lost the match when Gonzalez took the 35th point in the set to win it 6-2.
However, Garza seemed to recover some of his steam and charged into the second set to give Gonzalez a run for his money. The player, who is currently ranked world number 439, broke his opponent once and managed to score an ace against him in the second set.
However, he could not keep up the performance in the tie-breaker, and Gonzalez eventually won the set 7-6(5).
World number 261, Santiago Gonzalez, is currently 27 years old, and has been part of the Association of Tennis Professionals [ATP] circuit since 2001. He has not won any ATP Tour titles yet.
Gonzalez will have his work cut out for him in the second round, where he will confront first seed and defending champion, David Ferrer, from Spain.
Ferrer, who is one of two Top Ten players in the men’s draw, defeated Romanian qualifier, Adrian Ungur, to set up a second round match against the Mexican wild card.
Lukasz Kubot ousts Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo 7-5, 6-0
Lukasz Kabot of Poland defeated his first round opponent, Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, in straight sets at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.
The Polish player, who is one of the participants in the main draw, took a little over an hour and forty minutes to defeat his Spanish opponent.
The first set was an intensely challenging one, as both players battled back and forth to win the tie-breaker. In the attempt, Kubot fired one ace and won 55 percent of the total points while world number 75, Ramirez Hidalgo, managed to score two aces.
He also helped Kubot’s cause by committing seven double faults, and failing to defend himself from three of eleven break points. Although, he successfully broke Kubot twice, Ramirez Hidalgo was unable to win the set and gave it up to his Polish opponent
7-5.
The second set was an unparalleled victory for Kubot, who seemed exhilarated by his close first set win. He managed to score three aces and converted three of four break points. In addition to this, he took an impressive 74 percent of the total points. Kubot
scored a bagel to win the second set.
28-year old Kubot, who is currently world number 134, will now compete against either eight seed, Juan Ignacio Chela, or, Argentine, Eduardo Schwank, in the upcoming round.
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