Pablo Andujar ousts Victor Hanescu in the opening round – Roland Garros 2012
Spanish contender, Pablo Andujar, overpowered the Romanian veteran, Victor Hanescu, in a five-set nail-biter at the French Open 2012 on Sunday. He nudged up a 6-1, 2-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory against the former world number 26 to labour into the second round
at this second of the four Grand Slam events held in Paris, France.
Andujar made quick in-roads but lost his concentration after winning the opening set. Apart from losing the following two serves, the Spaniard stayed calm and conquered the Romanian for the first time in their third battle against each other. The contestants
last fought each other at the Copa Claro in Buenos Aires earlier this season and after earning this success, the Spaniard lowered the trail in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series by 1-2 against the 30-year-old.
Standing at his career best rank at 36, Andujar high-spiritedly entered the Court number 17 and held his opening serve with self-assurance. After Hanescu held his serve in the following game, the Spaniard went on a five-game rampage and pocked the opener
with a breadstick.
On the other side of net, the world number 146 got in action and carved out the desiderated break in the second game to jump to a 3-0 lead. He then held remaining his serves and cashed in another break chance in the last game to click the set with a 6-2
success.
Hanescu maintained his intensity in the third set and reeled off the opening three games in a row before the Spaniard could hold on. He then bagged the last three games and clinched the set with a superb 6-1 score line.
The 26-year-old found his momentum again in the fourth set. He gifted away his serve in the fifth game and went 2-3 down. However, Andujar unleashed his skills after that and wiped out the last four games successively, eventually sealing the set with a 6-3
win.
Andujar went berserk in the final set and plucked the opening four games successively before the Romanian could hold on. He pocketed the last two games and sealed the deal with a breadstick.
Next challenge for Andujar is 18th seeded Stanislas Wawrinka in the round of 64.
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