Mikhail Youzhny outlasts Santiago Giraldo in the second round – BMW Open 2012
Sixth seed Mikhail Youzhny fought back after losing the first set to overcome Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo, 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4, in the second round at the BMW Open in Munich, Germany, on Wednesday.
In the first set, none of the two players succeeded in breaking the other until the end, taking the score to 6-6 and forcing a tie-breaker. Giraldo played tremendously well, allowing his higher ranked opponent to claim just two
points and sealing it 7-6(2).
The Colombian neither hit an ace nor committed any double fault in the opener. However, he managed to keep his first serve percentage at 76 and snatched 23 of the 31 points on them. Giraldo was also impressive on the second deliveries,
converting eight of the 10 of them into points.
After losing the first set with the narrowest of margins, Youzhny struck in the opening game of the second and won his next serve to attain a 2-0 lead. The Russian capitalised on the single break and won it 6-4.
The Moscow resident bombarded four aces and 75 percent of the first serves in the second set, winning 21 of the 27 points on them. He did not do well on the second deliveries, losing six of the nine points but balanced that by
clinching six of the eight second return points.
In a similar fashion to the second set, Youzhny claimed an early lead in the decider, as he broke Giraldo in the third game and consolidated on it to move ahead 3-1. The Russian did not let slip the advantage till the end and sealed
it 6-4.
The 6ft tall banged in three aces and 67 percent of the first serves, converting 17 of the 22 of them into points. In comparison, Giraldo had a far better first delivery percentage of 85 but the Colombian managed to win just 19
of the 29 first and two of the five second serve points. The right-hander failed to save the only break point he faced and could not convert the one he received in the final set.
Youzhny needed two hours and 41 minutes to come out victorious from a tough battle.
The Russian is slated to face third seed, Marin Cilic of Croatia, in the quarter-final. The Croatian did not face difficulty in routing out world number 103, Matthias Bachinger of Germany, in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 in the round
of 16.
Tags: