Nicolas Almagro thumps Santiago Giraldo to reach the fourth round – BNP Paribas Open 2012
Reigning world number 12, Nicolas Almagro of Spain, went through a gruelling battle against Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo, before disposing him in three sets, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(2), in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open on Monday.
The Spanish number three took two hours and six minutes to register his 20th victory of the 2012 ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) season.
It was Almagro’s fourth straight victory over the 24-year-old Colombian, giving him a 4-0 lead in the all-time head-to-head series against him. He had already defeated Giraldo in Auckland earlier this year and the results on Monday
were no different to that encounter. The 12th seed Spaniard was off to a sloppy start in the matchup, dropping the opening set to suffer an early set back. He regrouped with great mastery and came back firing at his opponent in the following set.
The Spaniard kept winning crucial points and went on to pocket the third set tie-breaker round to register a hard-fought victory in the end.
Almagro appeared a bit rusty in the early parts of the match but he got his eye set in the game later and turned the tables on the crafty Colombian in the last stages of the match. He held his nerve in the extreme pressure situation
of the ultimate decider and came out victorious to reach the fourth round of the tournament.
A far intense battle is anticipated in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open, as Almagro will go one-on-one against the world number seven, Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic. The seventh seed Czech is also had a taxing encounter
in the third round but eventually took down the former world number one, Andy Roddick, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, to book a berth in the fourth round of the draw.
Berdych leads Almagro by 5-2 in the all-time head-to-head series and is among the strongest candidates for clinching the Indian Wells title. He has already bagged a championship trophy in Montpellier, France, last month and will
be the hot favourite for the fourth round contest against Almagro. The Spanish number three is also having a fine run of form and won the Brasil Open earlier this year to extend his title tally to 11.
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