Nicolas Almagro defeats Philipp Kohlschreiber in the quarter-finals – German Tennis Championships 2012
Spain’s top seeded player, Nicolas Almagro, kept on performing brilliantly on the clay courts, as he defeated the sixth seed, Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, in straight sets 7-5, 7-5 to move to the semi-finals at the Bet-at-home German Tennis Championships in Hamburg on Friday.
The Spanish participant needed one hour and 37 minutes to beat his opponent in an equally contested match.
Almagro claimed his initial breakthrough in the fourth game of the match and consolidated on it to attain a 4-1 lead. Kohlschreiber struck back in the ninth and held his next serve to level the proceedings at 5-5. However, the German’s efforts went in vain, as he failed to win when he served to stay in the set at 5-6, going down 5-7.
The Spaniard smashed a couple of aces and committed one double fault, having a low first serve percentage of 43 and sealing eight of the 12 points on them in the opener. The Murcia, Spain resident captured 12 of the 16 points on the second deliveries and converted two of the four break points.
Almagro hit the first blow once again in the second set, snatching a break in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead but he failed to capitalise on that, losing the subsequent two and squaring off the score at 4-4. Kohlschreiber and Almagro exchanged a break in the next two games to take the score to 5-5. The Spaniard comprehensively held his serve in the 11th and this time he did not waste the opportunity, closing it 7-5.
The 6ft tall, Almagro, banged three aces and clinched 12 of the 15 first delivery points. Almagro’s response to his opponent’s second serves was also quite attacking, as he pocketed 14 of the 20 points on them.
Commenting on his form after the match, the Spaniard said, "Today was a very tough match. Philipp is a great player, he's playing really well right now. I'm happy with my tennis. I'm focussing on the things I need to do to beat my opponent. I am trying to play aggressively, serving well and returning very well."
With this victory, Almagro improved his match record to 34-8 on the clay courts in this season. The Spaniard won two titles on his favourite surface in 2012, winning the Brasil Open and Open de Nice Cote d’Azur. He lost to his countryman, David Ferrer, in the Copa Claro and SkiStar Swedish Open finals.
The Spaniard will face off the third seed, Juan Monaco of Argentina, in the semi-finals at this event.
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