Potito Starace dismisses Victor Hanescu in three sets at the 2011 Grand Prix Hassan II
Italy’s Number 1 tennis player Potito Starace managed to oust Romanian tennis pro Victor Hanescu in three difficult sets at Casablanca earlier today, defeating his opponent 6-1, 6-7(3), 7-6(2). Starace took less than two hours
and thirty minutes to send Hanescu home after a great Grand Prix Hassan II campaign this year.
Starace began the match extremely well, scoring two aces and playing a flawless game to race ahead to a first-set win. He managed to take an impressive 94 per cent of the first serve points, and did not even face one break point
during the match. At the same time, he managed to break Hanescu two of four times. The Italian pro ended the first set with a whopping 67 per cent of the total points and a 6-1 scoreline. However, his Romanian opponent seemed to warm up in the next round and
came back determined to give Starace a run for his money. He scored one ace in the next sets, and broke Starace twice to win the set 7-6(3) with 55 per cent of the points. Although the third set was extremely close and it even seemed as if Hanescu would bypass
Starace, the Italian pro was just a little better today. He managed to win the match with three points more than his opponent and a 6-1, 6-7(3), 7-6(2) scoreline.
Starace is ranked World Number 47 at the time, and has been posting satisfactory results this year. He reached the quarterfinals of the Medibank International, which was his first tournament, after which he also made it to the
semi-finals at the Movistar Open. His best result has been at the Casablanca tournament, as he has managed to reach the title match after defeating players such as Gilles Simon and Daniel Brands.
Hanescu is ranked behind Starace at World Number 58, and has not made it past the second round of a 2011 tournament before the Grand Prix Hassan II. He defeated players Daniel Gimeno-Traver, Michael Better and Andrey Kuznetsov
to make it to the semis of the event.
Potito Starace will be facing long-time rival Pablo Andujar of Spain in the title match of the tournament, taking on an opponent whom he has a 2-0 record against. Andujar seems apprehensive about the match, saying, “he is a great
player who loves clay. It will be a hard match since I have never won against him ... (but) I have nothing to lose and I’m looking forward to the final.”
Andujar himself defeated compatriot Albert Montanes in straight sets at the semi-final, and may finally have a chance of defeating Starace who is bound to be exhausted after his clash against Hanescu.
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