Philipp Petzschner beats Potito Starace in the quarterfinals of BMW Open
World number 76 Philipp Petzschner of Germany overcame world number 43 Potito Starace of Italy in straight sets 7-6(3), 7-6(6) in the quarterfinals of the BMW Open at the Iphitos Tennis Club in Munich on Friday. Petzschner took
an hour and 46 minutes to oust his opponent in an evenly contested match.
The German and Starace held their serve in the first 12 games of the opening set, levelling the score at 6-6 to force a tie-break. Petzschner thrashed the Italian in the tie-break as he claimed three mini-breaks to win it 7-3.
The 27-year-old hit a couple of aces and did not commit any double fault in the first set. The German delivered 63 percent of the first serves, winning a whopping 91 percent of the points on them in the opening set. On the other
hand, Starace hit a single ace and 77 percent of the first serves, converting 65 percent of them into points in the first set. The Italian saved the only break point he faced in the opening set.
The second set went on the same line as the first set. None of the two players managed to break other’s serve, taking the set to a tie-break. Petzschner clinched a late mini-break in the tie-break, claiming it 8-6.
The German served quite well as he fired five aces and 78 percent of the first serves in the second set. The right-handed won the same percentage of first service points in the second set. In comparison, Starace did not hit any
ace and committed a single double fault in the second set. The Italian delivered 80 percent of the first serves and converted 78 percent of them into points. The right-handed saved the only break point he faced in the second set.
This will be Petzschner’s second straight semi-final at the BMW Open. The German upset Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic in three sets 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals to reach the last four stage in 2010. However, the 27-year-old
could not reach the final as he was defeated by Russian Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets 5-7, 6-7(5) in the semi-finals. Petzschner was defeated by Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in three thrilling sets 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-7(8) in the opening round in 2009. In his
first appearance at the ATP World Tour 250 in Munich, the six feet and one inch tall lost to Marin Cilic of Croatia in straight sets 4-6, 6-7(7) in the second round in 2008.
The German is drawn to play his compatriot Florian Mayer, ranked 35th in the world, in the semi-finals. Mayer defeated world number 69 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in three sets 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4 in the quarter-finals.
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