Marcel Granollers stuns Andreas Seppi in first round – Mercedes Cup 2011
Wednesday started off with the continuation of 1st round matches of the Mercedes Cup 2011. First up was Marcel Granollers the Spaniard. Rivalling the Spaniard was Andreas Seppi from Italy. Granollers survived a mid-match
lapse to secure a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win over the higher ranked Italian.
The match was played at the TC Weissenhof Court, Stuttgart, Germany. The clay courts were levelled up as the two players stood their ground.
Having a head to head record of 2-1 in Seppis’ favour, the Italian stallion has a better world ranking. Formerly at world No. 27, Seppi dropped down in ranking 10 places and is currently at world No.37 while the Spaniard stands
at No 52. Competing for the third time on clay, the 27-year-old Italian managed to win the previous two fixtures played between the two.
Considering the facts and figures, Seppi was surely the hot favourite for this match. With Granollers opening the match and the score board, the match took off to a flyer. The Italian came back in game 2 and levelled the scores
1-1. The Spaniard immediately gained lead in the next game and hushed off a breakpoint of the Italian’s serve changing the scores to 3-1. While the World No.37 struggled to cut the Spaniard’s lead, Granollers went on winning games to end the first set at 6-3.
Losing the first set, Seppi took the second set with a flying start. Winning the opener and a breakpoint on Granollers serve, the Italian came up to a comfortable 2-0 lead. As the Italian bagged another game, the Spaniard, at last,
had a breather winning first game for the second set 3-1. Serving for the game, the Italian increased his lead to 4-1 and made it quite impossible for the Spaniard to win the set. However, Granollers did manage to pull off two consecutive games. Alas to no
avail, winning a breakpoint and the next game, the Italian levelled the set score to one each.
The match had severe twists and turns throughout the game. The second set struggler was now the decider set leader. Marcel Granollers was revenging his previous wins as he fought like a beast in the final set. With backhands faster
than a bullet, the Spaniard tamed the Italian stallion as he won the first 3 games to 0 of the decider. Like a whip in his hand, Marcel made the stallion run down to his knees. Winning another set Granollers put forward a 4-0 lead. Though Seppi had a breakpoint
in the following game, Granollers was now unstoppable as he made his win historic. Winning the last two games the Spaniard magnificently ended the set 6-1 and the match with a win 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
Marcel Granollers, having cleared the 1st round, will face Frenchman Benoit Paire in the second round of the Mercedes Cup 2011.
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