Pablo Andujar upsets top seed Albert Montanes in Casablanca semi-final
World Number 69 Pablo Andujar delivered an unpleasant surprise to top seed Albert Montanes in the semi-final of the Grand Prix Hassan II, defeating the Spanish tennis pro in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. The player is ranked much lower
than Montanes, who is World Number 24, and the loss came as a shock to the top seed. Andujar, who is also Spanish, took less than two hours to lock a spot in the title match of the Casablanca event.
Albert Montanes scored four aces during the match, but negated this by committing five double faults. He also played poorly on his first serve, scoring just 61 per cent of the points while Andujar raced ahead with two double faults
and 77 per cent of the first serve points. He also managed to break Montanes five times, and defended himself against three of sixteen break points. Pablo Andujar eventually won the match with nine points more than his opponent, setting up a winning score
line of 6-4, 6-4.
Montanes is 30 years old and has been through a gruelling week, which may have something to do with his loss. The player is one of the most experience pros on the circuit, having joined the Association of Tennis Professionals in
1999. He has won five career titles so far, although a 2011 win has so far eluded him. Despite this, the player managed to reach the quarterfinals of the Copa Telmex tournament before falling to Juan Ignacio Chela, and posted his best 2011 showing here at
Casablanca.
On the other side of the court, Pablo Andujar is 25 years old and has been playing as a professional since 2004. He has won no career titles so far, but he managed to reach the quarterfinals of this year’s Brasil Open before falling
to Ricardo Mello. His best showing has been at this tournament in Casablanca as well.
The match was also a surprise win for Andujar, who has been defeated by Albert Montanes twice before. Their head-to-head record is now 2-1, with Montanes taking the lead. Andujar said about the victory, “I played very well today.
It was a difficult match since he knows exactly how to play against me.”
Pablo Andujar will be facing fifth seed Potito Starace in the final of the tournament, and seems apprehensive about the match. However, he says, “I went match by match during the whole week without ever thinking about the final.
I have nothing to lose and I'm looking forward to the final." Their match will take place on Sunday, and is expected to be one of the most interesting non-Grand Slam champion clashes to take place on the ATP Tour so far.
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