Juan Carlos Ferrero suffers straight sets defeat against Nicolas Almagro at Barcelona Open
Clay court expert Nicolas Almagro managed an easy victory at his quarterfinal match on the courts of Barcelona, cruising into the next round with a straight-sets defeat of former World Number 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero. The Spaniard,
who is seeded eighth at this event, undid Carlos Ferrero in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. The match took less than one hour and four minutes, after which Almagro proceeded to the semi-finals with the likes of Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer and Ivan Dodig.
Almagro began the match quite well, scoring two aces and committing no double faults against his opponent. The player managed to stave off all but one of the break point opportunities which Juan Carlos Ferrero held over him, and
took an even greater lead by converting three of ten break points against the former World Number 1. He went on to win 61 per cent of the first serve points, taking the opening set 6-3.
The next set was an even more easy one for Almagro, who scored four aces with just one double fault. The extent of Carlos Ferrero’s injuries from last year, and the effect of his age began to show in this set despite the fact that
he did manage to convert one break point against Almagro. The younger Spanish pro managed to break the former King of Clay twice, and took 55 per cent of the total point in this set to win it 6-3. This resulted in Almagro’s victory with a 6-3, 6-3 score-line.
The player has now made it into the ATP Top Ten, and seems thoroughly elated by the win. He says, “It’s an incredible feeling. There’s no better place to achieve it than in my home club in front of my own people and my family and
all the home support. It’s a great reward for myself and the work of my whole team.”
Nicolas Almagro will be facing fourth seed and compatriot David Ferrer in the next round of the 2011 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.
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