Feliciano Lopez ousts Fernando Verdasco to enter semis – AEGON International 2013
In an all-Spanish affair, Feliciano Lopez stunned his compatriot, Fernando Verdasco, in straight sets at the AEGON International 2013 on Thursday. He jolted down a 6-4, 7-6(6) victory against the former world number seven to power
into the final four at this ATP World Tour 250 series event taking place in Eastbourne, United Kingdom.
The higher ranked Spaniard showed tremendous skills and abilities to outsmart Verdasco in their seventh encounter. With this triumph, Lopez not only avenged his loss at the Rogers Cup four years ago but also edged in the FedEx
ATP Head 2 Head series by 4-3 against his fellow countryman.
The 31-year-old stated in a courtside interview after earning the limelight, “I have to still play like I was playing today and the previous matches, and if I play good I will have my chances. On this surface, if I play good, I
know I will have a good chance to win, but I have to play good. When the court is like this, it's better for my game. That's really obvious. If the court is a little bit wet, it is good for my serve, good for my slice. I can go to the net quite a lot.”
Lopez held his opening serve with poise and levelled the scores at 1-1 at this grass court event. He drew the first blood in the fifth game and jumped to a 4-2 lead. The higher ranked Spaniard then held his serve once again and
clicked the opener with a 6-4 win. He was never threatened with any breakpoint and ruled throughout the set.
Ranked 38th in the Emirates Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Lopez maintained consistency in his game in the following set. He smoothly held his entire serves after brushing off both breakpoints he came across. However,
he failed to seek any break chance and took the set to a tie-breaker. Lopez prevailed in it and clinched the set with a 7-6(6) score line.
Next in line for Lopez is the Croatian contender, Ivan Dodig. The Croat upset eighth seed Fabio Fognini in straight sets in almost an hour to set-up this battle. Dodig is in great run of form at this event as he outclassed top
seeded Canadian, Milos Raonic, in the second round. The dominating Spaniard needs to carry his rhythm and find more break opportunities in order to triumph over Dodig.
The Italian challenger, Andreas Seppi, will join Lopez in the following round. He jolted down a 6-4, 6-2 victory against Czech Republic’s Radek Stepanek.
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