Pere Riba eases past Guillaume Rufin into the second round of Open de Nice Côte d’Azur
Spaniard Pere Riba, ranked 65th in the world, crushed world number 255 Guillaume Rufin of France in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 in the opening round of the Open de Nice Côte d’Azur at the Nice Lawn Tennis Club in Nice on
Monday.
It took Riba only an hour and nine minutes to beat his opponent in a one-sided contest.
The Spaniard took the lead straightaway as he broke Rufin in the opening game of the first set and consolidated on it to take a 2-0 lead. Both players held their serve in the next four games to take the score to 4-2 in favour of
Riba. The Spaniard broke again in the seventh game and served out the set at 5-2.
Riba fired four aces and 62 percent of the first serves in the opening set. The 23-year-old had a remarkable first serve conversion rate as he converted a whopping 92 percent of the first serves into points in the opening set.
In comparison, Rufin had a disappointing first serve percentage, delivering a mere 34 percent of the first serves.
The right-handed committed two double faults and did not hit any ace in the first set. The French could not respond to his opponent’s powerful first serves, winning only one of the 13 first return points in the opening set. The
20-year-old lost both break points he faced in the first set.
Just like the opening set, Riba broke the French in the first game and held his next service game, going ahead 2-0. However, Rufin responded quickly and broke back in the fourth game to equalize the score at 2-2. After that, it
was all Riba show as he claimed four successive games, breaking the French in the fifth and seventh game to capture the set 6-2.
Riba delivered a single ace and kept his first serve percentage at 50 percent in the second set, clinching 56 percent of the first service points. On the other hand, Rufin’s first serve percentage improved as the French hit 57
percent of the first serves but his conversion rate dropped drastically, converting a meagre 31 percent of the first serves into points in the second set. Riba capitalized on four of the five break points on Rufin’s serve and saved one of the three break points
on his own serve in the second set.
This is Riba’s first appearance at the Open de Nice Côte d’Azur. The six feet tall thrashed world number 91 Michael Russell of USA in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 in the final qualifier to enter the main draw.
The Spaniard is slated to meet world number 23 Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine in the second round. The Ukrainian prevailed over Italian Filippo Volandri, placed at 74th spot in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings,
in the opening round.
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