Jan-Lennard Struff stuns Ruben Ramirez- Hidalgo in the semi-finals – Madrid Challenger 2012 CH
Ranked 263rd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Jan-Lennard Struff, gave a straight-set shocker to the local challenger, Ruben Ramirez- Hidalgo, in the semi-finals of the Madrid Challenger, Spain.
He summed up his 6-3, 6-0 triumph in a total of one hour and 10 minutes on Saturday.
The second seeded Spanish had a sloppy start in the opening set but was unable to preserve his initial serve. Struff quickly activated and clinched the initial two games with facing any hindrance. The Spaniard did not make it a
simple battle and busted his rival’s serve, levelling down the score twice i.e. in the fourth and sixth game respectively. However, Struff desperately wanted to taste victory and broke Hidalgo’s serve in seventh game; skilfully stealing the last two games
to conclude the initial set with a 6-3 lead.
The Spanish veteran manifested 50 percent initial serve precision with 10 of 16 first and five of 16 second delivery points. He pocketed away one of two break points presented to him and similarly the German challenger won three
of the six serve breaks. Struff manifested a lower initial serve of 44 percent, converting seven of 11 first serve points.
In the second set, the 34-year-old local completely lost his confidence and remained dormant. The German junior maintained his winning pace and cashed his entire serve until the end. Struff swiftly bagged away all the points with
every passing game and concluded the set with a bagel.
The German underdog had an average initial serve of 50 percent, converting eight of 11 first and six of 11 second delivery points. His challenger successfully displayed 62 percent first serve precision with six of 13 first but
lagged behind as he just managed to attain one of eight second delivery points.
For the next match the German will have a face a tough challenge at the hands of the fourth seeded, Daniel Gimeno-Traver. Previously he gave straight sets 7-5, 6-1 defeat to his compatriot, Sergio Gutierrez-Ferrol. The Spaniard
is current maintains his excellent run of form and will surely try his best to use his home ground for his maximum advantage.
Tags: