Fabrice Martin, Grega Zemlja qualify for the semi-finals – Guzzini Challenger 2011
Fabrice Martin ousts Federico Gaio 6-3, 7-6(4)
French Fabrice Martin, ranked 507th in the world, outplayed world number 435 Federico Gaio of Italy in straight sets 6-3, 7-6(4) in the quarterfinals at the Guzzini Challenger in Recanati on Friday. The Frenchman needed
just an hour and fourteen minutes to beat his opponent.
Martin broke the Italian in the sixth game of the opening set and held his serve in the next game to grab a 5-2 lead. The French served out the set in the ninth game, capturing it 6-3. The 24-year-old smashed 72 percent of the
first serves and five aces in the first set. Martin saved the three break points he faced on his own serve and converted one of the two break points he received on Gaio’s serve in the opening set.
The Frenchman and Gaio were unable to break other’s serve in the second set. The set was taken into a tie-break, where Martin succeeded in claiming a couple of mini-breaks with the help of aggressive volleys and grabbed it 7-4.
The qualifier served very well as he fired 72 percent of the first serves and five aces in the second set. The French won a whopping 91 percent of the first service points in the second set.
Martin is drawn to meet wild card entrant Grega Zemlja in the semi-finals.
Grega Zemlja beats Roberto Bautista-Agut 7-6(4), 7-6(4)
World number 136 Grega Zemlja of Slovenia prevailed over world number 184 Roberto Bautista-Agut of Spain in straight sets 7-6(4), 7-6(4) to advance to the last four.
The Slovenian broke Bautista-Agut in the third game of the opening set and held his serve in the next game to blaze forward to a 3-1 lead. The Spaniard broke back in the tenth game, equalising the score at 5-5. The set was taken
into a tiebreak. Zemlja earned two mini-breaks to win the tie-break 7-4. The Slovenian capitalised on one of the six break point opportunities he created on the Spaniard’s serve and faced four of the five break points on his own serve in the first set.
The proceedings in the second set were not much different from the first set as Zemlja and Bautista-Agut held their serve throughout to level the score at 6-6, forcing a tie-break. The Slovenian claimed two early mini-breaks and
consolidated on them to seal the tie-break 7-4. The right-handed delivered four aces and the same number of double faults in the second set. The match lasted for two hours and twelve minutes.
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