Gerard Granollers plonks Jordi Samper-Montana to reach round two – Copa Sevilla 2012 CH
In an all-Spanish clash, Gerard Granollers tumble his compatriot, Jordi Samper-Montana, in straight sets at the Copa Sevilla 2012 on Monday. He nudged up a 6-3, 6-3 victory against the world number 307 to power into the second round at the Real Club de tenis
Betis in Seville, Spain.
Granollers got the better of his fellow citizen after dominating in one hour and 23-minute marathon. The players fought each other three times in the Future tournaments where Samper-Montana ruled in the first two clashes. After stealing the spotlight, Granollers
comfortably advanced into the round of 16 at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Challenger Tour event.
The 23-year-old made a drastic entry at this outdoor clay court event. He endured the initial loss in the opening game and fell at 0-2. However, he stayed focused and not only snatched his break back in the fourth game but got the breakthrough in the eighth
game, eventually sealing the opener by winning six games to three.
Ranked 318th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Granollers went out of control in the following set. He reeled off four games in a row after hitting exquisite forehands down the line. Apart from losing his serve in the sixth
game, the lower ranked Spaniard capitalised on another break chance in the last game and consequently clinched the set with a 6-3 score line.
On the whole, Granollers cashed in half of the 10 break opportunities and amazingly warded off four out of six breakpoints he came across. He clobbered an equal first serve share of 72 per cent and tremendously availed 30 out of 38 points on it.
Granollers will face off the winner of the match between seventh seed Javier Marti and the Venezuelan qualifier, Ricardo Rodriguez.
The German contender, Jan-Lennard Struff, crushed the local wild card recipient, David Vega Hernandez, with a breadstick to earn the glory later that day. He dusted away both breakpoints he encountered to keep his entire serves. The German capitalised on
four out of seven break opportunities and clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-1 score line in 53 minutes.
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