Marcel Granollers knocks out Filippo Volandri in the opening round – Bet-At-Home Cup 2011
Seventh seed Marcel Granollers of Spain scored a one-sided victory against world number 73 Filippo Volandri of Italy, beating his opponent in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 in the first round at the Bet-At-Home Cup in Kitzbuhel on Tuesday.
The Spaniard took an hour and 27 minutes to undo his opponent in a one-sided clash.
Volandri was first to take lead, breaking the Spaniard in the fourth game of the first set to take a 3-1 lead. However, Granollers did not take much time to respond as he broke back in the very next game and held his next service
game to level the score at 3-3. The Spaniard broke again in the ninth game and served out the set in the next game, winning it 6-4.
Granollers delivered 63 percent of the first serves and two aces in the opening set. The Spaniard dominated in all departments of the game as he won an incredible fourteen of the seventeen first service points and twelve of the
22 first return points in the first set. The Barcelona resident capitalised on two of the three break point opportunities he created on Volandri’s serve and could not save the only break point he faced on his own serve in the first set.
With winning momentum on his side, Granollers made a strong start in the second set as he broke the Italian in the opening game and consolidated on it to go ahead 2-0. The Spaniard broke again in the seventh game and served out
the set at 5-2.
The six feet and three inches tall delivered just 42 percent of the first serves but he did not lose even a single point on them, sealing all the eleven first service points in the second set.
After this win, the right-handed improved to an 18-18 win/loss record this year. Granollers is aiming to capture his second consecutive title in two weeks. The Spaniard beat compatriot Fernando Verdasco in three sets 6-4, 3-6,
6-3 in the title match at the Credit Agricole Suisse Open last week. Granollers also performed very well at the Sony Ericsson Open earlier in the season, where he upset Stanislas Wawrinka and Michael Llodra in three sets in the second and third round respectively.
Finally, the Spaniard was beaten by compatriot David Ferrer in straight sets in the round of 16.
Granollers is slated to meet qualifier Antonio Veic of Croatia in the second round. The Croatian defeated world number 70 Andreas Hider-Maurer in the first round.
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