Franco Skugor defeats Nicolas Massu in the second round of the Seguros Bolivar Open
Eighth seed Franco Skugor of Croatia outclassed Nicolas Massu of Chile in the second round of the Seguros Bolivar Open at San Jose, Costa Rica on Thursday evening. The Croat wrapped up his straight sets victory at 6-3, 6-3, in
just one hour and twenty eight minutes to register his first win of the running year.
The Croatian dominated throughout the contest with his aggressive game play and accurate power hitting. Skugor appeared too strong a competitor to be dominated by Massu, who failed to answer the attacking moves of the Croat. Skugor
was frequently observed to be raiding the net and delivering some fiery cross-court winners to his opponent. He defended his own baseline very well and gave no opportunity to Massu to crack a serve break.
Skugor belted six thudding aces in the match and only gave away one double fault, showing his accurate serving ability. He incredibly won 25 out of 32 total first serve points in the game and stung four serve breaks to seal victory
for him. The Croat had a good aggressive start to the opener and broke the opponent in the second game to lead 2-1. His opponent retaliated with the same in the very next game to eliminate the deficit, making the score 2-2.
The eighth seeded Croat kept collecting points in the set to consolidate his position in the game. A crucial break in the eighth game put him in the commanding position at 5-3, serving for the set. Skugor served out of the first
set with ease to lead the contest with one set to none. He secured 34 of the total 57 points being played in the opening set.
Momentum kept flowing for the eighth seed in the second set as well, as he reeled off 12 of 13 first serve points. Skugor crafted eight break opportunities but availed just two of them to take command of the second set. He fired
four aces to the opponent’s court, receiving just one form the other side. Massu crumbled under the pressure of defeat and kept committing a number of unforced errors to exacerbate his position in the match.
Skugor displayed expert error-free tennis and played some well calculated strokes to strengthen his lead to 5-3, while breaking Massu’s serve twice. The Croat eventually finished of the contest at 6-3, by thumping a forehand through
the baseline defence of his opponent.
The Croat will take on the top seeded Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili in the quarter-final round of the Seguros Bolivar Open on Friday night. Gabashvili outplayed Raven Klaasen of South Africa in straight sets 6-2, 6-4, in the second
round of the tournament to meet Skugor in the quarter-final round.
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