Richard Gasquet knocks out Santiago Giraldo in the first round – Wimbledon Championships 2011
World number 13 Richard Gasquet of France prevailed over world number 64 Santiago Giraldo of Colombia in straight sets 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(3) in the opening round of Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club in London on Monday.
The Frenchman took two hour and three minutes to oust his opponent in an evenly contested match.
Gasquet and Giraldo did not allow each other to break serve in the first eleven games of the opening set, taking the score to 6-5 in favour of the former. The French broke Giraldo in the twelfth game and won the set 7-5.
Gasquet delivered 64 percent of the first serves, sealing 74 percent of the points on them in the opening set. The French hit three aces and won 36 percent of the receiving points in the first set. The 25-year-old played aggressively
as he hit fifteen winners in the opening set. Gasquet converted one of the two break points he received on his opponent’s serve and saved all the four break points he faced in the first set.
Giraldo drew the first blood in the second set, breaking Gasquet in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. However, the Colombian failed to consolidate on the break of serve, levelling the score at 2-2. The French broke Giraldo again
in the eighth game and served out the set in the next game, claiming it 6-3.
The right-handed fired 65 percent of the first serves and four aces in the second set. Gasquet continued the winner barrage as he hit fifteen winners in the second set. The French clinched 80 percent of the net points. Gasquet
capitalised on two of the three break point opportunities he created on Giraldo’s serve and saved two of the three break points on his own serve in the second set.
The third set saw Gasquet and Giraldo breaking each other six times in the first twelve games, squaring off the score at 6-6 and taking the set to a tie-break. The French claimed a couple of mini-breaks in the tie-break, sealing
it 7-3.
The six feet and one inch tall hit six aces and twelve winners in the third set. Gasquet kept his first serve percentage at 74 percent and grabbed a whopping 51 percent of the receiving points in the third set. The French won 56
percent of the second service points and committed six unforced errors in the third set. The Neuchatel, Switzerland resident won three of the seven break points on the Colombian’s serve and saved two of the five break points on his own serve in the third set.
Gasquet will face world number 66 Igor Kunitsyn of Russia in the second round. The Russian defeated Dutch Igor Sijsling, ranked 188th in the world, in the first round.
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