Gimeno-Traver defeats Kohlschreiber to level tie against Germany at Power Horse World Team Cup
World number 54, Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain registered his surprise victory over the German, Phillip Kohlschreiber to level the tie 1-1 at the Power Horse World Team Cup on Wednesday.
The Spaniard won his singles rubber at the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 tournament in three sets, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, taking one hour and fifty one minutes of play.
Team Spain finally got into the winners circle at the tournament by defeating Germany 2-1 in its second tie. After suffering a 1-2 defeat at the hands of strong Russian squad in the opening tie, Spain made a good comeback in the
round robin stage by outplaying the home favourite Germans. Florian Mayer of Germany won the first singles rubber against Marcel Granollers but Gimeno-Traver’s victory over Kohlschreiber brought the contest on even terms at 1-1.
To the dismay of the local crowd at Dusseldorf, the Spanish duo of Granollers and Marc Lopez sealed victory for their side by winning the doubles matchup against the Germans.
Gimeno-Traver displayed nerves of steel to win the high-pressure encounter against Kohlschreiber, as he knew his loss in the game will sink Spain further in the tournament. Despite of a drastic slump in the second set, the Spaniard
dominated most of the time in the contest. He had an excellent start to the game and bagged the opener convincingly before the German back fired at him in the next set. Kohlschreiber levelled the game after clinching the second set but the resilient Gimeno-Traver
devastated him in the final set of the contest to bring home victory.
The Spaniard took off the game with authority, winning 13 of 16 first serve points and breaking his opponent twice. Kohlschreiber struck one serve break in the opening set but the damage done by the Spaniard was very much taxing.
He submitted the first set to his opponent at 4-6 but bounced back strongly in the next to stun Gimeno-Traver.
The second set was completely dominated by Kohlschreiber, as he broke the Spaniard twice without losing serve. He reeled off 28 out of 46 total points to close the set at 6-2 and brought the contest back on even terms.
Gimeno-Traver regrouped in the decisive set of the match and gave away no chance to the German to come on top. The Spaniard secured 16 of 18 serve points and stung two break points to seal victory at 6-3.
The Spanish duo won its matchup later to conclude their second tie and bring the much needed victory for their side.
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