Marcel Granollers overcomes Carlos Berlocq in the first round – Mutua Madrid Open 2012
World number 29, Marcel Granollers of Spain, fought back after getting bashed in the second set to undo Argentina’s Carlos Berlocq, ranked 38th in the world, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in the first round at the Mutua Madrid Open in Spain on Tuesday. The marathon contest was won by Granollers after a fierce battle of three hours and 10 minutes.
Berlocq was first to take lead, as he broke the Spaniard in the second game of the opening set and consolidated on it to attain a 3-0 advantage. The Argentinean, however, was unable to serve it out, squaring off the score at 5-5. Granollers made the most of this life line and captured two straight games to win it 7-5.
Granollers smashed a single ace and same number of double fault in the opener. The Spaniard put in 74 percent of the first serves and sealed 18 of the 25 points on them. In comparison, Berlocq managed to keep his first delivery percentage merely at 62 and won just 14 of the 24 points.
Berlocq made a flying start just like the first set, winning first three games to gain a 3-0 lead. Granollers broke back in the fourth and held his following serve to level it at 3-3. However, the Argentinean was in no mood to surrender this time, as he captured three straight games to triumph 6-3.
The 29-year-old had a decent conversion rate, grabbing 12 of the 17 first and seven of the 10 second serve points. He also banged in a couple of aces and did not commit any double fault. The Argentinean made Granollers’ life difficult with the help of his fiery second returns, clinching five of the six points on them.
Granollers and Berlocq exchanged a couple of blows in the first 10 games of the decider, taking the score to 5-5. It was the local contestant who rose at the right time, capturing two successive games to end it 7-5.
The Spaniard matched his first set’s statistics of a single ace and equal number of double fault. The 6ft 3in tall maintained first serve percentage of 71 and bagged 20 of the 36 points on them. The right-hander saved four of the six break points he faced and converted three of the seven he received in the final set.
Granollers will face 11th seed, Nicolas Almagro, in the second round. Almagro defeated Colombian player, Santiago Giraldo, in the opener.
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