Nicolas Almagro rallies past Albert Ramos to enter round three – BNP Paribas Masters 2012
In an all-Spanish affair, Nicolas Almagro triumphed over his compatriot, Albert Ramos, in a three-set mouth-watering match at the BNP Paribas Masters 2012 on Wednesday. He summed up a 7-6(1), 6-7(4), 6-3 victory against the 24-year-old to progress into the
third round at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters 1000 event held in Paris Bercy.
Seeded 11th in the event, Almagro squandered his chance of carving out the victory in straight sets after underplaying in the second set tie-breaker. However, he stepped up his game in the deciding set and eventually clinched the match in two
hours and 43 minutes in their third encounter. As a result, Almagro improved to a 3-0 lifetime in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head Series against his fellow citizen and advanced into the pre-quarters at this indoor hard court event.
Almagro entered the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in high spirits. He drew the first blood in the sixth game and took a 4-2 lead. Apart from losing his edge in the very next game, the higher ranked Spaniard stayed focused and prolonged the set to a tie-breaker.
He leaped to a 2-0 lead before closing out the opener with a 7-6(1) success.
The world number 48 re-focused his strategy in the following set. He broke his compatriot’s opening serve and took a 2-0 lead. Despite losing his serve in the very next game, the younger Spaniard held his composure and took the set to a tie-breaker. He was
trailing 1-3 before he made an epic comeback and eventually pulled out the equaliser with a 7-6(4) score line.
Ranked 13th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Almagro found his early momentum in the final set which counted the most. He superbly warded off all five breakpoints he faced to keep his entire serves. The higher ranked Spaniard
got the breakthrough in the eighth game after cashing one out of six break chances and subsequently sealed the decider by winning six games to three.
Almagro will face off the local number one, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The sixth seed battled past his compatriot, Julien Benneteau, in three sets to set up this duel.
Tags: