Juan Martin Del Potro downs Alexandr Dolgopolov in the quarter-final – Mutua Madrid Open 2012
Former world number four, Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina, advanced to his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final in 2012 on Friday. He prevailed over the 16th seed, Alexandr Dolgopolov, in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 in the
quarter-final of the Mutua Madrid Open in Madrid, Spain.
Del Potro snatched a break in the fourth game of the opener and held his next serve to gain a 4-1 lead. Dolgopolov struck back in the seventh game but failed to even out the score, losing his serve once again and going down 3-5.
Del Potro lost only one point in the ninth game and sealed it 6-3.
The Argentinean smashed two aces and one double fault in the opener, keeping his first serve percentage at 67 and claiming 17 of the 24 points on them. He played extraordinarily on the second returns, as he captured 12 of the 19
points.
Del Potro and Dolgopolov held their serve in the first four games of the second set, taking the score to 2-2. The Argentinean hit a blow in the fifth and consolidated on it to move ahead 4-2. Del Potro maintained it till the end,
serving out the set at 5-4.
The 23-year-old completely demolished his opponent with the help of blistering serves, as he bombarded eight aces on Dolgopolov and secured 12 of the 14 points on the second deliveries. In comparison, the Ukrainian hit only one
ace and committed three horrible double faults in the second set.
It took Del Potro only an hour and 23 minutes to topple Dolgopolov in a one sided match.
Giving an interview after the match, Del Potro said, "I am really happy with my tennis, with my body and I am feeling really confident on clay. I don't feel any pain so it's a good sign for the next tournament and I think I'm getting
better tournament by tournament."
The Argentinean will take on sixth seed, Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic, in the semis.
Berdych said, commenting on his next match against Del Potro, "I'm expecting a really tough match. To play Juan Martin is always tough, he's a great guy and he knows how to win the Grand Slams. He's definitely back after his [wrist]
injury. So far this year, I have already lost to him and it would be nice to get him back now. I will try to do my best, to play my game, to be aggressive."
This will be their fifth meeting on the ATP World Tour. Del Potro leads Berdych 3-1 in the head to head record.
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