David Ferrer overpowers Alejandro Falla to reach the semis – Heineken Open 2012
Top seed David Ferrer battled past Colombian Alejandro Falla in a three setter enthralling match at the Heineken Open 2012 on Friday. He registered a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 success over the Bogota resident to book a final four spot at this
ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event in Auckland, New Zealand.
The defending champion, Ferrer, displayed his true form in this rain-delayed quarter-final and took lead in the head-to-head series by 1-0 against the world number 80. It took him two hours and seven minutes to overwhelm the resilience
posed by Falla.
World number five, Ferrer, stayed on course to bid his twelfth career title after making quick in-roads in the opening set. He exchanged two serve breaks and then broke the Colombian’s serve again in the end to clinch the opener
with a 6-4 win. The Spaniard brushed off one out of three breakpoints he came across and capitalised on three out of four break opportunities to pull out the victory.
The unseeded Falla re-devised his strategy in the second set. He lost his serve once but broke the higher ranked Spaniard’s serve twice, plucking the equaliser by winning six games to four. The Colombian clinched 16 out of 24 points
on his higher first serve share and converted two out of five break chances to his advantage.
Ferrer sought his rhythm again in the final set, as he cashed in both break opportunities and sealed the decider with a 6-3 win. He failed to defend the only breakpoint he encountered but clobbered a better first serve share of
79 percent and dominated throughout the set.
Next in line for the highest ranked player of the tournament is his compatriot, Fernando Verdasco. Third seeded Verdasco tumbled over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in straight sets in almost two and half hours in their fourth meeting.
Eighth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber will accompany the Spaniard in the final four. He upset the world number 10, Nicolas Almagro, on Thursday after warding off early resistance. He broke Almagro’s serve once and dusted away both
break points he came across to advance at ASB Tennis Centre.
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