Nicolas Almagro, Marin Cilic reach the second round – German Tennis Championships 2012
Nicolas Almagro beats Tobias Kamke 6-4, 6-1
Top seeded Spaniard, Nicolas Almagro, scored a comprehensive win over the world number 97, Tobias Kamke of Germany, in straight sets 6-4, 6-1 in the opener at the Bet-at-home German Tennis Championships in Hamburg on Tuesday.
Almagro and Kamke swapped a break of serve in the first eight games to even out the score at 4-4. The Spaniard struck again in the ninth and made the most of it to triumph 6-4.
The 6ft tall dominated the second set from its beginning, hitting three blows to the German and holding both of his in between serves to build a 5-0 lead. Almagro had two set points at 40-15 to complete the bagel but he wasted
the opportunity, losing his serve and taking the score to 5-1. However, the Spaniard regained the control in the following game to win 6-1.
Almagro served poorly, as he committed four horrible double faults and kept his first delivery percentage at just 44. Though, the 26-year-old played brilliantly when it mattered most, saving six of the eight break points he faced
and converting six of the 10 he received in the match. The one sided encounter lasted for just an hour and 13 minutes.
The Spaniard is drawn to play the former world number three, Nikolay Davydenko of Russia, in the second round.
Marin Cilic defeats Flavio Cipolla 6-3, 6-4
Seeded fourth in the draw, Marin Cilic of Croatia advanced to the round of 16 by beating Italy’s Flavio Cipolla, in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 in the opening match.
The Croatian took an hour and 29 minutes to record the win over his rival.
Cilic and Cipolla started the contest by breaking each other in the first two games and equalising the proceedings at 1-1. The Croatian hit another blow in the sixth game, consolidating on it to moved ahead 5-2. Cilic dropped only
one point, when he served for the set in the ninth game and captured it 6-3.
In a similar fashion to the opening set, Cipolla drew the first blood, as he snatched a break in the second game to go up 2-0. However, Cilic showed that why he was ranked higher than the Italian, grabbing four games in a row to
convert his trail into a 4-2 lead. The Croatian capitalised on it to triumph 6-4.
Cilic is drawn to play Argentinean participant, Federico Delbonis, in the round of 16.
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