Filippo Volandri bows out to Jurgen Zopp in round two – Skistar Swedish Open 2012
Seventh seed, Filippo Volandri, was edged out by the Estonian star, Jurgen Zopp, in troublesome three sets at the Skistar Swedish Open 2012 on Wednesday. He suffered a 6-3, 1-6, 4-6 shock at the hands of the world number 84 in the second round at this outdoor
clay court tournament held in Bastad, Sweden.
The Italian seed made a strong start but stepped off steam afterwards. As a result, Zopp stole the show and booked a spot in the quarter-finals.
Volandri was broken three times but capitalised on four out of six break chances, eventually sealing the opening set with a 6-3 success.
The 24-year-old on the other side of net made a spectacular reply in the following set. He failed to block the lone breakpoint he faced but broke Volandri entire serves to pocket the equaliser with a breadstick.
Ranked 79th in the South African Airways ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Rankings, Volandri failed to seek any break chance in the final set. In addition to this, he dusted away only four out of five breakpoints he faces,
eventually enduring a 4-6 loss.
Summing up the Italian’s performance, Volandri clobbered a better first serve share of 77 per cent as compared to his opponent’s 67 per cent. However, he marked only 46 out of 85 points on it. The seed also capitalised on five out of seven break opportunities
but blocked only 10 out of 17 breakpoints he came across.
The beaming Estonian on the other hand assertively set up a date with Czech Republic’s Jan Hajek in the quarters.
The third seed, Albert Ramos, faced a better reality the following day. The left-handed Spaniard showed brilliant skills and abilities to outclass Korolev in their first meeting. After earning the glory in one hour and 22 minutes, Ramos not only took lead
in the head-to-head series by 1-0 against the Russian-born Korolev but also progressed into the final eight.
Ramos made a sloppy entry at this ATP World Tour 250 series event and suffered the first blow in the fifth game to trail at 2-3. However, he made a stunning reply and went on a four-game rampage, eventually sealing the opener by winning six games to three.
The Spaniard repeated his winning ways in the follow-up set and gained his rhythm after losing his opening serve. He wiped out the last six games in a row before clinching the set with a 6-3 score line.
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