Feliciano Lopez outplays Carlos Salamanca to win the title – Seguros Bolivar Open Bogota 2011 CH
World number 24, Feliciano Lopez of Spain crushed the unseeded Colombian opponent, Carlos Salamanca in the final of Seguros Bolivar Open Bogota on Sunday to win the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour title.
Being played in Bogota, Colombia, Lopez faced no real difficulty in taking down the home favourite Salamanca in the contest and wrapped up a straight sets victory at 6-4, 6-3, to take the crown. The Colombian hung in the contest
for barely 63 minutes before he finally surrendered to the top seeded Spaniard in the second set of the match.
It was a brilliant display of sheer dominance by the top seed Lopez, who entered the tournament as the wildcard and crushed the local hopes in Sunday’s final. Salamanca failed to live up to the expectations and couldn’t repeat
the magnificent performance he has been successfully exhibiting in the initial round of the tournament.
Lopez was off to a flyer in the opening set and his 63 per cent precise serve earned him 14 out of 17 first serve points. The top seed coughed four double faults in the opener but his points winning proficiency masked the minor
errors he committed in the contest. The Spaniard broke first in the third game to lead the set before Salamanca back fired at him with a cracking serve break to bring the matchup on even terms again.
A crucial break point conversion from the Spaniard in the ninth game made the all-important difference in the opening set, letting Lopez serve for the set at 5-4. The top seed easily served out of the first set at 6-4 to get a
substantial 1-0 lead in the matchup.
The following set brought no luck for the Colombian, as he sunk further in the game to let the Spaniard away with victory. Lopez reeled off 13 out of 16 first serve points in the second set and stung two serve breaks to push Salamanca
out of the competition. The Colombian had four break opportunities in the set and squandered away all of them to finish off on the losing side in the end.
Lopez forced his way to victory at 6-3, bagging the Seguros Bolivar Open Bogota title in style. A total of 106 points were played in the entire contest with the Spaniard winning 62 of them and Salamanca following him with 44 points
to lose the matchup.
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