Nicolas Almagro trounces Marcos Baghdatis in round two – Roland Garros 2012
Spanish number three, Nicolas Almagro, powered down the Cypriot challenger, Marcos Baghdatis, in straight sets at the French Open 2012 on Thursday. He clobbered a 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 victory against the former world number eight to cruise
into the third round at this second of the four Grand Slam event held on the clay courts in France.
Seeded 12th in this tournament, Almagro, tumbled over his fellow 26-year-old in two hours and 37 minutes. Battling each other for the first time, the Spaniard not only edged in the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals)
head 2 Head series by 1-0 against Baghdatis but also progressed into the round of 32.
Almagro made thundered into the Court number Two and drew the first blood in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead. Despite losing his edge in the very next game, the Spaniard cashed in another break chance in the last game and clicked
the opener with a 6-4 win.
Ranked 13th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Almagro maintained consistency in his game and held his opening serve with poise. He brushed off both breakpoints he faced to keep his entire serves and
capitalised on one out of 10 break chances in the eighth game to pocket the set. He hammered eight winners and dominated throughout the set to register a 6-3 score line.
The in-form Spaniard carried his rhythm in the third set and earned the critical break in the third game to go 3-1 up. Apart from losing his serve in the eighth game, he stayed on the right path and got the breakthrough in the
in the 11th game, subsequently clicked the set with a 7-5 success.
All in all, the Spanish star clobbered an equal first serve share of 53 per cent but impressively availed 46 out of 61 points on it. He also hit 35 winners and ended the match with 125 points.
Up next for Almagro is the Argentinean star, Leonardo Mayer, who stunned 24th seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets to set up this battle. The Spaniard needs to play his game and stay focus throughout the match
in order to reach far at this Grand Slam.
Tags: