Juan Ignacio Londero ousts Nicholas Monroe in the second qualifying round – Copa Topper Challenger
Ranked 455th in the South African ATP World Tour Rankings, Juan Ignacio Londero, successfully battled into the final qualifier of the Copa Topper Challenger held at the red clay courts of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The
local challenger penned down his three-setter win at 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 after a fierce battle against the American senior, Nicholas Monroe on the eve of Sunday.
The 19-year-old, Londero, held his initial serves and quickly clinched the initial four games. The American professional responded by cashing his serve in the very next game but was unable to dominate. Gradually, Monroe gained
momentum but his pace died down and Argentinean jumped forward to close the set with a 6-3 score line.
In the second set, the 30-year-old, Monroe, swiftly pocketed away the initial three games to mark a 3-0 lead and completely reversed the winning order. The Argentinean junior struggled hard but was unable match the strength of
his challenger. Although Monroe faced a tough deal, he played with a strong resolve to win and terminated the set with a 6-2 lead.
The right-hander Argentinean participant presented an average initial serve of 50 percent with six of 15 first and second serve points. He snatched the single serve break opportunity and his competitor won three from seven. Monroe
had an above average initial serve precision of 74 percent with 12 of 17 points.
The final set, the two players battled hard against one another and were unable to preserve their initial serves. They periodically busted each other’s serves and as the game kicked towards the end, the score line levelled down
to 5-all in the 10th game. The Argentinean took advantage of his home and nudged forward to mark a 7-5 win.
The lower ranked American fired three aces but double faulted five times. He had a better initial serve accuracy of 67 percent with 15 of 22 first but just one of 11 second delivery points. Londero took the lead by capitalizing
on all three serve break opportunities presented to him but secured 59 percent first serve precision. He pocketed away 14 of 22 first and nine of 15 second delivery points.
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