Juan Martin Del Potro battles past Gilles Muller in the semi-finals – Erste Bank Open 2012
Ranked eighth in the ATP World Tour Rankings, Juan Martin Del Potro, attained the better of the Luxembourgian native, Gilles Muller, in the semi-finals of the Erste Bank Open 2012 held at Vienna, Austria. He jolted a straight set
triumph, 7-6(4), 7-6(5), after a tough battle against the underdog and terminated the match in one hour and 50 minutes.
In an interview with the media Potro said, “The second final in a row is nice for me. I am getting better match-by-match, which means improvements in my game and to my confidence. I am very happy to play in the final again.”
The left-hander, Muller, held his initial serve in the opener and brought the scores to 1-0. Immediately, the score line equalized to 1-1 in the second game by the powerful Argentinean professional. Both the players held their
serves, giving each other a tough resistance and resultantly the score line levelled down one after the other. As the victory oscillated between the two sides, as both the participant encountered a tough time to prevail over one another. Eventually, Potro
jumped forward ended the set with a 6-6 score. He skilfully maintained his lead through the tiebreaker round and terminated the set with a 7-6(4) score line.
In the second set, 24-year-old, Potro proved his outstanding potential by preserving his serve. Like before, the two participants held the initials serve, making it one of the most thrilling matches of the tournament. The Argentinean
professional fired high paced forehands and precise backhand strokes but his challenger defended his position with great valour. Although, he had to go through a hard time, he confidently preserved his posture. The right-hander, Potro, terminated the set with
a 7-6(5) win after a close set tiebreaker round.
The 29-year-old Luxembourgian fired 16 aces and had a 79 percent initial serve precision. He secured 53 of 64 first delivery points. The Argentinean professional responded back by thundering 17 aces and manifesting 72 percent initial
serve with 48 of 54 first serve with 11 of 21 second delivery points.
The top seeded contender will battle against Grega Zemlja in the final.
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