Juan Martin Del Potro dismisses Michael Llodra to enter quarters – Open 13
In a re-match of the last season’s final showdown, Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro bounced back to overpower the local contender, Michael Llodra, in a three-set thriller at the Open 13, an ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event held in Marseille, France. He notched up a 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-5 victory against the French contender to power into the final eight on Thursday.
Seeded second in this event, Del Potro showed flawless performance to outsmart the local challenger in their sixth encounter. After pocketing the match, the Argentinean not only avenged his loss at the BNP Paribas Masters last circuit but also improved to a 5-1 lifetime in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series against the 32-year-old.
The Argentinean number one was quoted in a courtside interview after bagging the match:
“It was very, very tough. It shows the level of the tournament is so high, that we played in the final last year and now in the first round. I think I played a very good level at the end of the match. He played well throughout the match. I needed luck to beat him today, because he deserved to win the match as well.”
The left-hander French swiftly bagged his entire serves with poise and with the help of a single break of serve, Llodra grabbed the opener with a 6-3 win.
The former world number four, Del Potro, re-focused his strategy in the proceeding set. He held his entire serves but failed to cash in any break opportunity. The set went to a tie-breaker where the Argentine prevailed, eventually bagging the equalizer with a 7-6(4) success.
Currently ranked seventh in the Emirates ATP World Tour rankings, Del Potro carried his rhythm in the deciding set. He ruled his entire serves and got the breakthrough in the end, subsequently clinching the decider with a 7-5 score line.
Del Potro smashed 14 aces and clobbered a better first serve share of 68 per cent as compared to his rival’s 56 per cent. He also impressively marked 56 out of 80 points on it.
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