Nicolas Almagro halts Juan Carlos Ferrero in opening round – Valencia Open 2012
In an all-Spanish affair, sixth seeded Nicolas Almagro toppled the former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero, who was playing his last career tournament, in straight sets at the Valencia Open 2012 on Tuesday. He nudged up a 7-5, 6-3 victory against the
wild card entrant to book a spot in the second round at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 Series event held in Valencia, Spain.
Almagro showed brilliant skills from his box of tricks to outsmart the world number 161 in 101 minutes. Battling each other for the sixth time, the younger Spaniard not only improved to 4-2 lifetime in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head Series against Carlos Ferrero
but also moved a step closer towards qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.
The 32-year-old on the other end retired from his 14-year professional career on the ATP World Tour.
Almagro paid tribute to the legend by stating:
“Maybe it was the most bitter win of my career as a great tennis player is leaving us. I hope he'll be with me for a few weeks next year and I think we'll have some fun. I still have a lot to learn from him.”
Carlos Ferrero commented in a post match press conference:
“It's been a long time since I enjoyed myself so much on a tennis court. It was an honour to finish my career playing you, I think you are a great champion. I simply want to thank everyone for all their support, not just this year
but throughout all the years I have played here. It's always been a very special tournament for me.”
The 27-year-old Spaniard made a sloppy entry at the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències. He suffered the first blow in the opening game and went 0-2 down. However, Almagro made a fitting reply and after breaking his compatriot’s
serve twice, he took a 5-3 lead. Despite squandering his edge in the very next game, the in-form Spaniard remained focused and carved out a 7-5 victory with another break of serve in the last game.
Ranked 12th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Almagro maintained consistency in his game in the following set. He got the coveted break in the second game and jumped to a 3-0 lead. Regardless of losing
his edge in the fifth game, the higher ranked Spaniard got the breakthrough in the very next game and clinched the set with a 6-3 score line.
He will face off America’s Sam Querrey in the round of 16.
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