Juan Martin Del Potro, Nikolay Davydenko through to the semi-finals – World Tennis Tournament 2012
Juan Martin Del Potro beats Viktor Troicki 6-0, 6-1
Third seed Juan Martin Del Potro pounded Viktor Troicki of Serbia in straight sets 6-0, 6-1 in the quarterfinal of the 39th ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands on Friday. World
number 10, Del Potro, destructed Troicki in just 61 minutes of play.
Argentina’s top ranked player was almost flawless in the first set, as he did not lose even a single game, breaking Troicki three times and winning the set 6-0.
Del Potro punished almost all of the Serbian’s serves with his huge ground strokes. The Argentinean won four of the six first and nine of the eleven second return points. Troicki helped Del Potro’s cause by hitting two double
faults and delivering just 35 percent first serves in the opener.
The story of the second set was almost similar to the first, as Del Potro dominated from the start to finish. The 23-year-old lost only one game and captured the set 6-1.
Del Potro will take on world number 7 Tomas Berdych in the semi-final.
The Argentinean assessed, "Berdych has been playing well for the last two years, according to the ranking, he would be the favourite in our match. He has confidence and is a danger on this surface, I'll just concentrate on
my game."
Del Potro was victorious in the last two matches played between the Argentinean and Czech.
Nikolay Davydenko defeats Richard Gasquet 7-5, 6-3
Former world number three, Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, qualified for the first semi-final of the year, as he overpowered Richard Gasquet of France in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 in the quarterfinal. The match lasted for an hour
and 37 minutes.
Davydenko and Gasquet broke each other twice in the first ten games of the opener to level the score at 5-5. Gasquet failed to hold his serve at 5-6 and lost the set 5-7.
Both players hit one ace and committed two double faults but Davydenko had a better first serve percentage and conversion rate. The Russian saved five of the seven break points he faced in the opener.
The second set went with the serves until the seventh game when Davydenko gained advantage. The Russian snatched another break in the ninth, grabbing the set 6-3.
Davydenko did not lose any opportunity to break his opponent, converting both of them to his advantage. The Russian altered his second serve and avoided any double fault.
Davydenko commented, "At the beginning, I was nervous. He had a good tactic and was hitting a lot of winners. But I played better and better, and had less mistakes as the match went on."
The Russian will meet 2005 champion Roger Federer in the semi-final.
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