Nicolas Almagro ousts Albert Ramos in second round – Malaysian Open 2011
Nicolas Almagro, Spaniard, blazed away the 2nd round of the Malaysian Open 2011, against compatriot, Albert Ramos in an hour and 43 minutes winning 7-6(2), 7-6(4), to make his way into the quarterfinal round of the ATP
Tour 250 event. Playing at the Putra Stadium, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, 29thSeptember, Almagro had a tough fight before he curled away winning both sets in tiebreakers.
Ranked world No.11, the 26-year-old Spaniard expected an easy win though Ramos gave it his all to give his higher ranked compatriot a run for his money. Comparatively the two had equal wins in their prior 10 matches. The only difference
that might have made a difference is that Almagro had been playing most of his fixtures on hard courts.
Starting off first, Ramos won the toss and served first. Although the two were from the same country, they started off like enemies for centuries. Saving a breakpoint in the start, the 23-year-old world No.80 served out the first
game of the match, 1-0.
Following up the winning, Almagro took out game 2 and switched the serve, 1-1. Serving out one game each next, the two levelled up again at 2-2 before Almagro broke through. With a startling forehand winner, the 26-year-old broke
the world No.80 and took the lead as he washed away with the following game, 4-2.
The lead did not stay up for that long. Ramos served out game 7 and levelled up at 4-4 breaking his compatriot in game 8. Boiling up the temperatures, both battled out next four games winning two each to end up in a tiebreak.
Serving first for the tiebreaker, Ramos took out the first point, however, went down straight as the world No.11 bombarded the young compatriot with 5 straight points. Almagro finally took away the tiebreaker and the set 7-6(2)
with a close win.
Moving on with the second set, Almagro took out the opener followed by the 23-year-old levelling up instantly, 1-1. Unable to break each other, the two once again stood equal at 2-2 and then at 3-3 with Almagro to serve next. Shocking
the world No.11 once again, Ramos slammed a breakpoint and took the lead.
Hoping to level up the match scores, Ramos served game 8 and fell short as the 26-year-old broke back and extended his lead to 5-4 serving out game 9. However, the young compatriot did level back next, 5-5. The set eventually went
into a tiebreaker once again.
With the greater edge in the game, Almagro once again over came the pressure and went away winning the tiebreaker and the set 7-8(4) to win the match in straight sets.
Through to the quarter-final round, Almagro, the top seed, will now play the overwhelming 21-year-old Japanese, Kei Nishikori.
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