Pablo Andujar performs double duty to enter semis of Grand Prix Hassan II 2012: Tennis Special
Spanish tennis star, Pablo Andujar, crushed the Italian contender, Potito Starace, with a 6-3, 6-0 success at the Grand Prix Hassan II 2012 in his second round match. The third seed then carried his winning ways and outclassed his qualifying compatriot,
Sergio Gutierrez-Ferrol, in a see-saw match. He nudged up a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 victory against the world number 376 and secured a place in the final four at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event held in Casablanca, Morocco.
Andujar performed double duty to advance into the semi-finals at this clay court tournament. He devastated the Italian star, Potito Starace, with a bagel before rallying past Gutierrez-Ferrol in one hour and 33 minutes.
The Cuenca native got the better of Starace in 69 minutes in their fourth meeting at the Complexe Al Amal. He cashed in half of the 12 break opportunities to pull out the victory in straight sets and cruised to encounter Gutierrez-Ferrol. After pocketing
this match, Andujar also levelled the head-to-head series by 2-2 against the Italian.
Andujar thundered into the opening round of his quarter-final match and stroke out the first three games in a row with two breaks of serve. He lost his serve in the fourth game but capitalised on another break opportunity in the seventh game to leap at 5-2.
Despite losing his serve again, the beaming Spaniard plucked his serve in the last game and clinched the opener with a 6-4 score line.
The second set was a lopsided affair as Gutierrez-Ferrol went on a five-game killing spree before his fellow citizen could hold on. He then slid his serve once more and pulled out the equaliser with a breadstick.
Ranked 39th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Andujar found his rhythm again in the final set. He swiped in his entire serves after brushing off the lone breakpoint he faced. The enthusiastic Spaniard got the breakthrough in
the eighth game and sealed the decider by winning six games to three.
Gutierrez-Ferrol on the other hand was also playing his second match of the day. He devastated the Algerian qualifier, Lamine Ouahab, with a breadstick to set-up this battle.
Next in queue for Andujar is the Italian contender, Flavio Cipolla, who got the better of the French rising star, Benoit Paire, in straight sets to set-up this epic battle. He lost his serve twice but broke the French’s serve five times to formulate a 6-3,
6-4 success. As a result, the Italian veteran levelled the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series by 1-1 against Paire and avenged his loss at the Australian Open.
The Valencia resident is bidding for his second ATP career title at this event. If he plays with same intensity, he can easily succeed his goal and conquer this €450,000 outdoor tournament. However, Andujar needs to stay focus at all time and should not
take his opponent lightly.
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