Gilles Simon defeats Guillermo Garcia-Lopez to reach round three – Mutua Madrid Open 2012
Ninth seed, Gilles Simon of France, eased past the Spanish veteran, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, in straight sets at the Mutua Madrid Open 2012 on Wednesday. He penned down a 6-4, 6-3 score line against the world number 94 to charge into the round of 16 at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Masters 1000 event held in Madrid, Spain.
The Swiss resident required one and a half hour-long venture to tumble over Garcia-Lopez in their third meeting. After earning this limelight, Simon not only improved to a 3-0 lifetime in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series against the Spaniard but also booked a spot in the third round at this blue clay court event.
Simon comfortably entered Park Manzanares and held his opening serve in the second game to tie the scores at 1-1. He then continued displaying magnificent skills and not only swiped in remaining serves but got the breakthrough in the seventh game to clinch the opener with a 6-4 score line.
Ranked 12th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Simon carried his rhythm in the following set. After Garcia-Lopez plucked his serve in the fifth game, the French went on a four game tear and pocketed the opener by winning six games to three.
All in all, the Nice native fired five aces and sealed the deal with 72 points. He also manipulated a better first serve share of 52 per cent as opposed to his opponent’s 46 per cent and tremendously clicked 25 out of 27 points on it.
Next in queue for Simon is the seventh seed, Janko Tipsarevic, who battled past Argentina’s Federico Delbonis in three sets to set-up this battle. The Serbian number two hammered 13 aces and broke his opponent’s serve twice to formulate a 7-6(5), 6-7(6), 6-3 score line.
The second seed, Rafael Nadal, will accompany the French in the pre-quarters. He nudged up a 6-2, 6-2 victory in one hour and 20 minutes after cashing in four out of nine break opportunities. The local number one fired six vicious aces and clobbered a better first serve share of 70 per cent as opposed to his rival’s 55 per cent.
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