Juan Martin Del Potro defeats Pedro Sousa; advances at the Estoril Open
Eighth seeded Argentinean Juan Martin Del Potro laboured past Portuguese qualifier Pedro Sousa in a three set thriller on his first clay match this season. He registered a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over the Portuguese to advance into
the second round of the 2011 Estoril Open on Tuesday.
A former top five player, Del Potro is in great form this season so far as he won the title at Delray Beach in February. He also made a semi-final berth at Memphis and Indian Wells and reached the fourth round at Miami ATP Masters
1000 event before entering this tournament.
In his opening round at Estoril Court Central, he downed the 488th ranked Sousa in one hour and fifty-two minutes on his first meeting. The 22-year-old Argentinean now leads the head-to-head series against the qualifier
by 1-0.
Ranked 46th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour rankings, Del Potro displayed tremendous skills in the first set and held his opening serve plausibly. With his ferocious forehands from arsenal of skills, the
Argentinean kept his remaining serves easily. The Argentinean then converted breakpoint opportunities to his advantage in the third and seventh game to clinch the set with an assuring 6-2 score line. He produced a much better first serve share and registered
an amazing 88 percent win on it.
The Portuguese, who upset top seeded Spaniard Albert Ramos in the final round of qualifiers to enter the main draw, got back on roads in the second set. He still produced a lower first serve share but earned a spectacular 94 percent
win on it. Sousa held his entire serves superbly and converted the only breakpoint opportunity to his advantage in the eighth game with the help from Del Potro, who double faulted, to win the set with a 6-3 win.
Del Potro double faulted again to lose his serve in the first game of decider. He then re-focused and broke the Portuguese serve twice to seal the set with a 6-3 score line. The Argentinean had a lower first serve share of 54 percent
as compared to Sousa’s 71 percent but he registered a convincing 67 percent win on it.
He will next face Colombian Alejandro Falla who reached this spot after his rival, Spaniard Pablo Andujar retired in the third set.
The 27-year-old Falla lost the opening set but made a comeback in the second set with a style. He earned a breadstick in the equalizer and when the score were tied at 4-4 in the final set, the Argentinean earned the victory as
his rival was forced to retire due to a back injury.
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