Juan Martin Del Potro overcomes Michael Llodra to claim the title – 2012 Open 13
World number 10, Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina, finally got his hands on his first championship title of the season in Marseille, France, by defeating the 40th ranked home favourite, Michael Llodra, in the final
of the Open 13 on Sunday. The fourth seed Argentine laboured for one hour and 22 minutes before wrapping up his emphatic victory in twin sets, 6-4, 6-4, to hold his 10th ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) championship title.
It was his third consecutive victory over the 31-year-old French veteran in singles encounters, leading 3-0 in his all-time head-to-head series now. The former US Open champion showed glimpses of his vintage form to overwhelm his
bleak opponent in an assertive fashion. Del Potro faced limited resistance in the contest and kept his naturally aggressive strategy in the game to come out as the winner.
It was the 13th victory of the 2012 ATP season for Del Potro and a much needed one as well. He lost a title-winning opportunity a week ago in Rotterdam, Netherlands but made no mistake this time round and cashed in the
vital chance with complete authority. The Argentinean number one banged 73 per cent of his serve on target, firing 11 thudding aces to earn some un-fought points in the contest. He amazingly dropped merely four points on his first serve, clinching 36 out of
40 points to oust his opponent with ease. He nailed two out of eight serve breaks en route to victory, with his counterpart utterly failing to even craft a break opportunity in the entire contest.
“Llodra has a very difficult game to play against. He hits drop shots, he slices, so it's not easy to play against him,” said Del Potro after winning the 10th championship title of his career. “All finals are special.
Many things come to your mind... I was 0/30 down in the last game. I was really nervous. I didn't make a double fault since the Davydenko match and I had one at 5-4, serving for the match, so you could see how nervous I was. I'm really glad I won another tournament
here in France, so it's amazing for me.”
It was the first indoor hard-court title for Del Potro, who lost all of his previous three title shots. The 23-year-old has been battling with a career-threatening wrist injury for the past couple of years but his current form
depicts the level of determination and intensity the Argentine is having at the present.
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