Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo defeats Adrian Menendez- Maceiras in the quarter-finals – Madrid Challenger 2012 CH
Second seeded, Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo, successfully journeyed into the semi-finals of Madrid Challenger 2012, after a tough all-Spanish encounter with Adrian Menendez- Maceiras. The veteran penned down his 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(5) win on
Friday.
The duo encountered each other for the second time in their professional careers. Hidalgo displayed his greater experience on the clay courts and grabbed his second win over his fellow citizen at the ATP Challenger held in his
home ground. Previously, he defeated his opponent in the quarter-finals of the Rabat Challenger held in the year 2010, at Morocco.
Ranked 92nd in the ATP World Tour Rankings, Hidalgo, began the opener with his superior game plan and broke his opponent’s initial serve. He confidently maintained his lead with a 2-0 by the second game and immediately
the score line levelled down to 2-all in the fourth game. Maceiras struggled hard to take over and evened out the scores after every alternate game. Ultimately, the Spanish senior closed the set with a 7-5 score.
26-year-old Maceiras nudged forward in the seoncd set to turn the tables on his opponent. He took hold of the opportunity to bust his challenger’s initial serve and drew the first blood. Nonetheless, Hidalgo seemed powerless in
front of the junior, as he was unable to sustain his serve for the most of the time and terminated the set with a 2-6 loss.
For the initial part of the decider, Hidalgo began a sloppy start and Maceiras sustained his previous lead, stamping the score line with a 2-0 lead. The winning order oscillated back to their former position as Hidalgo broke his
contender’s serve in the eighth game. Although he faced a tough competition, he sustained his composure and eventually pulled of the tiebreaker, concluding final set with a 7-6(5) win.
The world number 184, Maceiras, fired seven aces onto his senior, with 61 percent initial serve accuracy. He grabbed 49 of 66 first and 16 of 42 second delivery points. However, he lagged behind as he could merely capitalize on
five of 13 break points and his compatriot pocketed away four of eight points. Hidalgo maintained 59 percent initial serve with 46 of 67 first serve points.
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