Gastao Elias ousts Joao Sousa in the semi-finals – Peugeot Tennis Cup 2012 CH
World number 174, Gastao Elias, gave his higher ranked compatriot, Joao Sousa, a straight-sets upset at 6-4, 7-5 in the semi-finals of the Peugeot Tennis Cup 2012 held at the red clay courts of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The duo encountered
each other for the fifth time and Elias consolidated his win in two hours.
Previously, the two compatriots faced one another in the start of October in the San Juan Challenger held in Argentina. Elias gave his rival defeat after a fierce battle, which lasted for three sets.
The second seeded, Sousa commenced an average start in the opener but was unable to dominate over his rival. The lower ranked, Elias secured the lead by cashing the lone serve break opportunity in the third game and boldly drew
the first blood. This dissolved his challenger’s confidence but he struggled hard to overpower. The 5 ft 10 inch, Elias confidently held his serve and throughout and did not face a single difficulty. He beautifully fired powerful forehand and backhand shots,
resultantly terminated the opening set with 6-4 score line.
Sousa started to gain momentum in the second set but it was little too late. Both the player gave each other a tough challenger and they continuously oscillated the lead amongst one other, which caused the score line to square
down after every alternate game. The right-hander Elias busted his rival’s serve in the 11th game and grabbed the last two without any difficulty, smashing down a 7-5 win.
The 23-year-old, Sousa, attained 53 percent first serve with 13 of 18 first and eight of 16 second delivery points. He was unable to mark his supremacy, as he could not attain even a single serve break and his challenger snatched
one of the four bestowed on him. In comparison to that, Elias had 65 percent first serve accuracy with 16 of 20 first and five of 11 second serve points.
In the next match, the 21-year-old will battle against the Serbian tennis professional, Boris Pashanski. Previously, the defeated fourth seeded, Guido Pella in straight sets 6-2, 6-3.
Tags: