Diego Junqueira and Rogerio Dutra Da Silva make it to quarter-final of the Seguros Bolivar Open
Eighth seed Argentine, Diego Junqueira entered the quarter-final of the Seguros Bolivar Open at Barranquilla, Colombia when his fellow compatriot Leonardo Mayer retired from the second round matchup on Thursday night. The shorter version of the game lasted
for one hour and thirty one minutes before the injured ankle of Mayer hampered him from playing. He had to forfeit the contest when Junqueira was leading 7-5, 3-2, in the second set.
23-year-old Mayer appeared rusty right from the beginning, hinting his debilitating physical condition. He gave away 12 double faults in the match, something not permissible against a strong contender like Junqueira. Although he delivered a mere 43 percent
of his first serve on target, Mayer bagged 16 of 22 points on it.
An action-packed opening set was observed with momentum oscillating to both sides. Junqueira collected just 52 percent first serve points in the first set, but seven double faults from his fellow countryman greatly assisted him to sting three serve breaks.
Mayer managed to break his opponent’s serve twice, but his sloppy footwork was not good enough to cut the angles of the fiery cross-court winners of Junqueira.
It appeared at a point, as if the set is heading to a tie breaker round, but a crucial serve break by Junqueira at 6-5 marked an end to the first set. He carried on his winning momentum to the next set and raised his first serve to an inspiring 88 percent
accuracy. An early exchange of serve breaks from both men was witnessed in the second set, but Mayer’s injured left ankle started to take its toll from his game. He gave away five double faults and was trailing 3-2 when he withdrew from the contest in the
most agonising manner.
Junqueira’s next round opponent will be the Brazilian wildcard, Rogerio Dutra Da Silva, who won the quarter-final ticket by defeating the other third seed Argentine, Brian Dabul. The Argentine was competing well in the game before a thigh strain restricted
him from playing further. Only one hour of the enthralling contest was completed and the score was evenly poised at 6-6, when the unfortunate event happened, ejecting Dabul from the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour event.
An electrifying first set was seen at Barranquilla, with both men playing with immense energy and aggression. Da Silva won 73 percent of his serve points while the Argentine closely followed him with 72 percent. No serve breaks were registered in the game
and a tie breaker was about to be enforced at 6-6 when Dabul signalled to forfeit the contest in favour of the Brazilian. Da Silva will take on Junqueira in the quarter-final clash on Friday evening.
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