Fernando Verdasco ousts Tommy Robredo to enter round two – Valencia Open 2012
In a clash between two Spanish veterans, former world number seven Fernando Verdasco trashed his wild card compatriot, Tommy Robredo, in straight sets at the Valencia Open 2012 on Monday. He nudged up a 6-3, 6-4 victory against the 30-year-old to secure
a spot in the second round at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 Series event held in Valencia, Spain.
Verdasco showed top notch skills to overpower the former world number five in their 11th encounter. After registering success in one and a half hour, the left-handed Spaniard not only avenged his loss at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters last season
but also lowered trail in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head Series by 5-6 against the world number 114.
The 28-year-old thundered into the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències. He stroke out the opening four games before Robredo could come on the score sheet. Despite squandering his edge in the eighth game, the higher ranked Spaniard capitalised on another break
chance and clinched the opener with a 6-3 score line.
Currently ranked 24th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Verdasco lost his path towards the proceeding set. After enduring the initial loss, the higher ranked Spaniard went 2-4 down. However, he unleashed his true form after
that and wiped out the last four games. The younger Spaniard failed to block the lone breakpoint he came across but availed two out of seven break chances to formulate a 6-4 success.
The Madrid native spilled fewer unforced errors but produced a better first serve share of 67 per cent as compared to his rival’s 54 per cent. He also acceptably marked 24 out of 35 points on it and finished the match with 69 points.
Verdasco will square off against the seventh seed, Marin Cilic. The Croatian number one made an epic comeback to outshine Slovakia’s Martin Klizan in a three-set nail-biter. He was handed a breadstick in the opening set but made a spectacular reply after
pulling out the equaliser with a bagel. Cilic maintained consistency in his game in the deciding set and eventually sealed the deal with a 1-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory.
Tags: