Gilles Simon, Fernando Verdasco through to round of 16 – Copa Claro 2012
Gilles Simon defeats Rui Machado 6-3, 7-5
World number 12 Gilles Simon made an impressive tournament debut, beating Portuguese Rui Machado in straight sets 6-3, 7-5 in the opening round at the Copa Claro in Buenos Aires on Tuesday. The Frenchman, Simon, scored the win over Machado in two hours and
four minutes.
Simon claimed an early break in the opener but his opponent snatched it back immediately. However, the Frenchman grabbed the advantage again in the next game and this time he did not lose it until the end, grabbing the set 6-3.
The 6ft tall, Simon, gave an average performance on his serves, winning just nine of the 22 points on the second. The French compensated that with his classy returns. He pocketed six of the nine second ones in the opener.
Simon and Machado exchanged a break of serve in the first eight games of the second set and squared off the score 4-4. The French clinched another in the 11th and capitalised on it to bag the set 7-5.
Talking to the newsmen after the match, a satisfied Simon said, "I felt good. I wasn't very consistent, but I had some good moments. It was a typical clay-court match and it's always good to win in two sets."
The third seed is slated to face Carlos Berlocq of Argentina in the next round.
Fernando Verdasco beats Eric Prodon 6-4, 6-1
Seventh seed Fernando Verdasco scored an easy victory over Eric Prodon of France to qualify for the second round. The Spaniard took just an hour and nine minutes to thrash Prodon in straight sets 6-4, 6-1 in the first round.
Verdasco made a good start he captured first three games to grab a 3-0 lead. Prodon fought back to level the score at 3-3. The French could not save the break point in the 10th game and lost the set 4-6.
Prodon fired three aces to his opponent’s one but the French succeeded in delivering just 64 percent of the first serves. On the other hand, Verdasco hit 86 and won points on 18 of the 24 of them.
The Spaniard looked unstoppable after claiming the opener. He broke Prodon twice in the first five games, taking a 5-0 lead. The Italian evaded the humiliation by winning one game but could not continue, losing the set 1-6.
Verdasco will take on Igor Andreev of Russia in the second round. Andreev defeated Slovakian Blaz Kavcic 6-2, 6-2 in the opener.
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