Guillermo Garcia-Lopez battles past Stanislas Wawrinka in the first round of the Mutua Madrid Open
Taking full advantage of home crowd’s support, world number 29 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain upset Swiss number two Stanislas Wawrinka, ranked 14th in the world, in three sets 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in the opening round at
the Mutua Madrid Open on Sunday. It took the Spaniard two hours and 45 minutes to overcome his opponent in a marathon match.
Garcia-Lopez needed a single break of serve to win the opening set 6-4. The Spaniard delivered two aces and hit a single double fault in the first set. The 27-year-old kept his first serves percentage at 59 percent, converting
74 percent of his first serves into points in the opening set. On the other hand, Wawrinka fired 70 percent of the first serves and claimed 65 percent of the points on them in the first set. Garcia-Lopez saved both break points he faced and capitalized on
one of the four break point opportunities he created in the opening set.
In the second set, Wawrinka and Garcia-Lopez exchanged a single break of serve in the first 10 games to tie the score at 5-5. The Swiss held his serve in the 11th game to take a 6-5 lead. Serving to stay in the set at
5-6, Garcia-Lopez could not hold his serve, losing the set 5-7.
Wawrinka fired four aces and 54 percent of the first serves in the second set, winning 85 percent of the points on them. Garcia-Lopez did not serve quite well as he hit just 41 percent of the first serves and clinched 73 percent
of the points on them in the second set. The Spaniard failed to save both break points he faced in the second set. Wawrinka succeeded in saving one of the two break points in the second set.
After the match score tied at one set apiece, the deciding set saw Garcia-Lopez breaking his opponent early and consolidating on the single break of serve to seal the set 6-4.
The Spaniard delivered 54 percent of the first serves and converted 74 percent of them into points in the final set. The right-handed claimed 30 percent of the first return points and capitalized on one of the two break point opportunities
he received in the third set. In comparison, Wawrinka fired 74 percent of the first serves, winning 70 percent of the points on them. The Swiss failed to convert any of the three break points he received in the deciding set.
The Spaniard will play either world number 83 Thiemo De Bakker of the Netherlands or compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero, ranked 73rd in the world, in the round of 32.
Tags: