Roman Borvanov stuns Rajeev Ram to get through to the semi-finals – Jalisco Open 2012
Qualifier, Roman Borvanov of Moldova, rallied to upset world number 155, Rajeev Ram of USA, in three sets 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, in the quarter-finals at the Jalisco Open in Guadalajara, Mexico on Friday.
The Moldovan required two hours and 12 minutes to beat Ram in a close match.
The opener went with the serve until the eighth game, when Borvanov grabbed a break of serve and made full use of it to seize it 6-3.
The Moldovan smacked a couple of aces and kept his first serve percentage at 55. He got hold of 13 of the 18 first deliveries and seven of the 12 second return points. The 29-year-old avoided both break threats he faced and availed
one of the two opportunities he received in the opener.
Ram got off to a good start in the second set, breaking the Moldovan in the fourth game and consolidating on it to build a 4-1 lead. Borvanov hit back in the ninth but one again lost his serve in the very next game, dropping the
set 4-6.
The right-hander, Ram, was brilliant on his first serves, pounding seven aces in the second set. He put in 76 percent of the first deliveries, bagging 18 of the 26 points on them. On the other hand, Borvanov hit just two aces and
the same number of double faults. Though, the Moldovan was impressive on the second returns, losing just two of the eight points on them.
In the decider, Ram and Borvanov held their serve in the first six games to level the score at 3-3. The Moldovan broke Ram’s serve in the seventh without dropping a single point. Borvanov fought off a tough battle in the next game
to hold and stretch his lead to 5-3. The USA resident served out the set at 5-4.
Borvanov hit three aces and two double faults in the deciding set. Though, Ram bombarded seven aces and committed only one double fault but he managed to win just three of the nine second serve points.
The Moldovan is pitted against third seed, Paolo Lorenzi of Italy, in the semi-finals.
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