Guillermo Garcia-Lopez defeats Somdev Devvarman in the second round of US Men’s Clay Court Championships
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez ousted Indian Somdev Devvarman in two sets to arrive at the quarterfinals of the US Men’s Clay Court Championships on Thursday.
Garcia-Lopez, turned pro in 2002, is at a current ranking of world number 27 in the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) singles rankings list. The Spaniard has high hopes and is likely to move into the finals to compete for a trophy and sterling $500,000.
Spaniard couldn’t reach the third rounds at the Miami and Indian Wells Masters, losing to Kevin Anderson and Ryan Harrison respectively. His best performance in the year came at Zagreb, Croatia, where he reached the semifinals though he lost to eventual champion, Ivan Dodig in straight sets. The Spaniard’s last appearance at Houston came in 2009 where he made it to the quarterfinals defeating Giovanni Lapentti and Jeremy Chardy in the first two rounds, before losing to Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets 3-6, 4-6.
Playing for the second time at the tournament, the Spaniard remained on top of his 26-year-old opponent throughout the contest, not allowing him to break through during the match. Garcia-Lopez registered 73 percent of points on first serves whereas Devvarman stayed behind with 67 percent in conversion. Devvarman scored a single ace and converted four of six break points victoriously in the set. He lost the first set even though he played exceptionally well with a 6-4 score line.
The final set observed an unexpected change, as the 27-year-old, Garcia-Lopez happened to play more aggressively. He improved his first serve to 40 percent and won 63 percent points on it. He also saved 100 percent breakpoints in return to break his opponent’s serves in the final set, securing a 1-0 lead. Devvarman on the other hand, delivered 61 percent of his first serves to win a meager 36 percent. He won 47 percent service points in total which were a lot lower than his higher ranked opponent’s 62 percent. Given his poor performance at the match, Devvarman suffered a breadstick defeat and handed over the match in straight sets. This was Garcia-Lopez’s first victory over Devvarman, securing his head-to-head lead by 1-0.
Garcia-Lopez will compete against Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay in the quarterfinals of the tournament. This will be first meeting between them. Uruguayan who is a seventh seed here, moved past Brazilian Ricardo Mello and American James Blake in the first two rounds of the tournament.
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