Paolo Lorenzi overcomes Fabiano De Paula in the quarter-final – San Luis Open 2012 CH
Top seed, Paolo Lorenzi of Italy, survived a meltdown in the second set to defeat Fabiano De Paula of Brazil 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 in the quarterfinal at the San Luis Open in Mexico on Thursday.
Lorenzi completely dominated the opener, as he did not lose even a single game, making three breakthroughs and winning six straight games to seal it 6-0.
The Italian had a reasonable first serve percentage at 53, converting nine of the 10 of them into points. The 30-year-old was extraordinary on the replies to his opponent’s serves, claiming four of the five first and eight of the
nine second return points in the opener.
Lorenzi started the second set exactly in the same manner as the first, claiming opening two games. However, this time De Paula did not allow the Italian to do the same till the end, as he struck back and won four games in a row
to attain a 4-2 lead. The Brazilian could not serve out the set, levelling the score at 5-5. Though, he snatched next two games to win 7-5.
De Paula put in just 48 percent of the first serves but did well to win 12 of the 16 points on them. The Brazilian was rusty on his second deliveries, as he managed to grab just eight of the 17 points on them and committed two
double faults. However, he was still better than Lorenzi, who served four double faults and lost 10 of the 14 points on the second deliveries.
With the winning momentum on his side, De Paula hit the first blow in the decider to go ahead 2-1 but Lorenzi struck back immediately to even out the proceedings at 2-2. The Italian went on to clinch the next four games and closed
it 6-2.
Lorenzi’s avoided three of the four break threats on his serve and availed three of the four chances he created in the final set.
The Italian required two hours and 10 minutes to claim victory over De Paula.
Lorenzi is drawn to meet compatriot, Riccardo Ghedin, in the semi-final. Ghedin ousted American, Denis Zivkovic, in the previous match.
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