Fernando Verdasco topples Denis Istomin to reach round two – Mutua Madrid Open 2012
Spanish tennis star, Fernando Verdasco, trounced the 45th ranked Uzbek, Denis Istomin, in the opening round clash of the Mutua Madrid Open on Tuesday. He registered straight sets 7-5, 6-2 win and booked a date with the
Colombian qualifier, Alejandra Falla.
Verdasco has never lost to Istomin in his professional career. Both players have encountered on three different occurrences and the 19th ranked Spaniard has been able to clinch triumphs in all of them.
The 28-year-old Spaniard stated in a post-match interview, “It is really special for me to play in Madrid; it's my city. Of course to play in front of my family and friends is always really nice and I always try to do my best and
try to control the feelings and emotions you have when you play here. So for me, it’s really big and important, and today I think I played really well and I'm happy that I beat a player like Istomin."
Both players met blow-by-blow to one another for the first 10 games of the match. There was absolutely nothing at all to differentiate the two competitors. They were agile at the courts and read the mind of their counterparts to
perfection.
The 15th seed Spaniard earned an opportunity to break serve in the 11th game but squandered it. However, he was able to register the first breakthrough of the match by clinching the second breakpoint in the
same game and held his serve without any pressure to steal a set win.
Verdasco continued the momentum and won two breakpoints on the trot in the second set that gave him a resounding lead of 4-0 at the start. He allowed no opportunity to his competitor to bounce back into the match. He had another
opportunity to register a hat-trick of breakthroughs but failed to convert a breakpoint in the sixth game.
Istomin smashed six aces compared to just two of his rival but he was unable to win points on Verdasco’s serve that led to his downfall. On the other hand, the Spaniard has another easy draw in the second round.
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