Fernando Verdasco cripples past Javier Marti to the quarter-finals – Brasil Open 2012
Spanish tennis icon, Fernando Verdasco, breaks the shackles and put an end to his dismal form with a victory in the second round of the Brasil Open against his compatriot, the wildcard entrant, Javier Marti. He was tested to limits before he could register his first triumph in the tournament with scores of 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5.
This match proved to be one of the most gruelling encounters of the tournament so far, lasting for two hours and 41 minutes with both players leaving the arena all exhausted. Crowd thoroughly enjoyed the contest and praised the stamina of both the contenders who fought like warriors. The 184th ranked Spaniard was expected to lose the match but no one ever thought that he would go this far before accepting the defeat.
The opening set was very entertaining; bringing in some classic power hitting into play. Verdasco was on top of his compatriot but wasn’t able to break his opponent’s serve until the very last game. He dominated the proceedings throughout the set but his rival was fighting with immense courage and travelled a lot of ground to make some incredible returns. In the last game of the set, the third seed Spaniard clinched the first breakthrough and the set to register the lead.
The second set started with successful serve games from both ends before a series of breakthroughs. Verdasco’s serve was broken twice whilst he could register only win one break point; in the meantime the scores progressed to 4-2 in favour of Marti. The third seed stayed in the hunt for a pivotal breakthrough and got one in the tenth game; saving the set and levelling the scores at 5-5.
A tie-breaker round was introduced with Marti in desperate need of an early mini-break. He was lucky to register an early lead that brought the match back into the balance with both players winning one set apiece.
Surprisingly, it was the third seed whose serve was broken first in the final set but her bounced back to win a break and level the scores at 5-5. The swift shift in momentum helped Verdasco to register another breakthrough that sealed the win for him.
Fernando Verdasco contests Albert Ramos in the quarter-finals.
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