BNP Paribas Masters; Fernando Verdasco advances, Mikhail Youzhny and Marcel Granollers bundle out
The Spaniard tennis ace Fernando Verdasco did well to bounce back from a set and break down to get the better of Arnaud Clement in three sets at the BNP Paribas Masters Men’s single competition on Tuesday. The final match score
was 3-6, 6-3, 6-0. As a result of this victory, Fernando has also made his way into the second round of the tournament in Paris.
The professional tennis ace from Spain is currently ranked number nine in the South African Airways ATP list. He has to advance at least into the semi final round this week at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 competition in Paris
to keep his hopes alive of qualifying for the elite eight-man field in London, which is set to take place from 21–28 this month.
His chances, though, now seem bleak as the 26-year-old struggled to adjust to the quick-paced surface and after losing the opening set by one break of serve, squandered a 2-0 advantage in the next before falling behind a break
at 2-3. The threat galvanised the Madrileno, and as a result he improved his game in the decisive set to seal win in the end. The battle concluded in one hour and forty-nine minutes on Tuesday.
"The court was quick. He was with more rhythm than me, maybe because his game, I think, is good for this kind of court. In the final set I saw him a little bit tired. At last I finished playing good,” declared Fernando after the
match on Tuesday.
The left-hander, as a result of this win, has improved his win-loss mark to 43-21 on the year; however, it was just his second victory since making his way into the quarterfinal round of the year’s final Grand Slam, the United
States Open in New York back in September. He enjoyed much greater success in the first half of the year, capturing crowns in San Jose as well as Barcelona and making his way into the title battle in Monte-Carlo and Nice before losing to Rafael Nadal and Richard
Gasquet respectively.
In other action, Ernests Gulbis also made his way into the third round of the competition after his ninth seed opponent Mikhail Youzhny from Russia pulled out during the second set due to his back injury. Ernests was leading 6-4,
3-0 in their second clash of the season.
The Argentinean tennis ace David Nalbandian who also won the title here back in 2007 will take on the third seed Andy Murray in round two after posting a two-setter win over Marcel Granollers from Spain on Tuesday. The final match
score was 6-3, 6-1. The battle lasted over a period of sixty-eight minutes.
"The court is very quick; however I think I have a good opening round. I got in some trouble at the end of the first set, but then I played well. So I am quite glad with this first round,” reflected the former world number three
Nalbandian after the victory.
Elsewhere, Thomaz Bellucci cruised past Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany in three sets to set up a round two match with Nikolay Davydenko of Russia. The final score line was 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-3. The 22-year-old Thomaz blasted twelve
aces and prevented seven of eight break points as he clinched victory in two hours and ten minutes on Tuesday.
World number 24 Juan Monaco also swept aside Sam Querrey from the United States of America in just eighty-six minutes to improve his win-loss mark to 30-19 on the year. The final match score was 7-6(7), 6-2.
Tags: