Albert Montanes dumps Santiago Giraldo to advance into semis – Bet-At-Home Cup 2011
World number 50, Albert Montanes of Spain dominated in the last set tie-breaker to trash the world number 62, Santiago Giraldo of Colombia in straight sets at the Bet-At-Home Cup 2011, an ATP World Tour 250 series event held on
the clay courts in Kitzbuhel, Austria. He registered a 6-1, 7-6(0) win over the Colombian to advance into the final four on Thursday.
30-year-old Spaniard displayed awe-inspiring skills to slay the Colombian, seven years younger than him, with a breadstick for the first time in their third meeting. He not only lowered the trail by 1-2 in the head-to-head series
against Giraldo but also took revenge for his loss at Acapulco earlier this season.
Montanes had a tough day as he stunned fifth seeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets in the morning. He saved three out of five breakpoints conceded and converted four out of six breakpoint chances to his advantage
to seal the match with a 6-4, 7-5 victory in eighty minutes.
The Barcelona resident, Montanes stormed into the stadium and bagged in first three games in a row. Giraldo then made his mark on the score board for the first time. However, the Spaniard maintained consistency in his game to strike
out last three games and earned a breadstick.
He produced a lower first serve share of 59 percent as compared to Giraldo’s 68 percent but registered a spectacular 92 percent win on it. Montanes further mustered the set by facing zero breakpoint threat and capitalising on two
out of five breakpoint chances to his advantage.
The Spaniard made a nervy start in the final set as he lost his opening serve to trail 0-2. Despite snatching the break back in the proceeding game, he lost his serve again in the sixth game and went 4-2 down. Later Montanes re-focused
and broke back again in the seventh game. He then held remaining serves to drag the set to a tie-breaker. The Spaniard fended off Giraldo’s threats throughout the tie-breaker to seal the set with a 7-6(0) score line.
He coughed several unforced errors and three double faults but his dominance in the tie-breaker led him clinch the match.
Next up for the Spaniard is the top seeded Argentinean Juan Ignacio Chela and he needs to focus more on breakpoint conversion to upset the highest ranked player at the Tennis stadium Kitzbuhel.
Chela fended off one out of two breakpoints conceded and converted four out of ten breakpoint chances to his advantage to triumph over seventh seeded Spaniard Marcel Granollers, who was on double duty, in straight sets in almost
one and half hour.
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