Potito Starace cruises to the quarterfinals of Grand Prix Hassan II
World number 47 Potito Starace of Italy defeated world number 103 Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo of Spain in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of the Grand Prix Hassan II in Casablanca on Thursday. The Italian took one hour and
31 minutes to undo his opponent.
Starace took the early lead as he broke Ramirez Hidalgo in the opening game and held his next service game to go ahead 2-0. However, the Spaniard broke back in the sixth game to level the score at 3-3. Starace played flawlessly
in the ninth game, breaking Ramirez Hidalgo again to take a 5-4 lead. The Italian served out the set in the tenth game, winning it 6-4.
Starace hit 67 percent of the first serves in the opening set, winning 65 per cent of the points on them. While, Ramirez Hidalgo delivered 57 percent of the first serves and claimed 63 percent of the points on them in the first
set. The Spaniard managed to save just one of the three break points he faced in the opening set.
Carrying the winning momentum into the second set, the Italian broke Ramirez Hidalgo twice to win the set 6-3.
Ramirez Hidalgo served quiet badly as he committed four double faults and hit just 48 percent of the first serves in the second set. However, he managed to convert 70 percent of his first serves into points. On the other hand,
Starace fired 61 percent of the first serves, converting a whopping 91 percent of them into points in the second set. The Italian capitalized on two of the five break points he received in the second set.
In the opening round, Starace beat German Daniel Brands, ranked 85th in the 2011 South African Airways ATP Rankings, in straight sets 7-5, 6-2.
This is the 29-year-old’s third straight appearance at the Grand Prix Hassan II. Starace was defeated by Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain in straight sets 4-6, 6-7(1) in the second round in 2009. The Italian lost to Swiss Stanislas
Wawrinka, ranked 23rd at that time, in three sets 4-6, 6-3, 4-6 in the semi-finals last year.
Starace is slated to meet world number 23 Gilles Simon of France in the quarter-finals. The Frenchman, seeded third at the Grand Prix Hassan II, prevailed over Portuguese Frederico Gil, ranked 83rd in the world, in straight
sets 6-3, 6-4 in the second round.
This will be the second meeting between Starace and Simon. In their only previous meeting, Simon defeated the Italian in three thrilling sets 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the round of 64 at the BNP Paribas Masters in 2007.
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