Frederico Gil defeats Alessandro Giannessi to move into semi-final – AON Open 2011 CH
Frederico Gil of Portugal continued his impressive run on the clay courts of Genoa as he thrashed out Italian Alessandro Giannessi 7-5, 6-1 on Friday to book his place in the semi-final of 2011 AON Open Challengers here in Genoa, Italy.
Gil made most of the opportunities in a match that lasted for only one hour and 26 minutes. With his aggressive intent, he created all sort of problems for his opponent from deep behind the baseline. Although he faced some resistance in the opening set, he looked at ease in the second and final set as he completed his straight sets victory in great style.
Seeded 8th at the Association of Tennis Professionals Challengers event, Gil made a terrific start to the match. Breaking the serve early in the opening set, he managed to take control of the situation right from the beginning. Holding on to his first three service games, he took a handsome 4-2 lead as he gained confidence.
Loss of concentration allowed his opponent to come back into the match. Looking for an opening to enter back into the contest, Giannessi showed great presence of mind as he converted one of the break points to stay in the set. However, Gil broke the serve for the second time, he earned a tricky 6-5 lead to serve out the set. Looking very comfortable on his service games, he bagged four straight points on his next service game to take the set score lead.
The Portuguese dominated his opponent in almost all aspects of the game in the following set. Smashing his powerful forehand and backhand winners both down the line and cross court, he put himself in the driving seat. Breaking the serve twice and holding on to his service games with ease, he raced to an impassable game score lead.
World number 106 then held on to his game score advantage to make it to the last four at the challengers tournament. Gil was absolutely delighted with the way he responded to pressure situations during the match. However, his impressive serve proved to be the decisive factor in his victory as he hit 67 per cent on his first serve. Converting 76 per cent of the points on his first serve, he really did not allow his opponent a sniff.
Gil will be hoping to maintain his current level of play in the semi-final as well where he takes on the inform Martin Klizan. Klizan defeated local boy GIanluca Naso 7-6 (1), 6-3 to reach that far.
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