Rui Machado outshines Peter Torebko to move into quarterfinal – Madrid Challenger 2011
Portuguese tennis pro Rui Machado eased past Peter Torebko of Germany 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday to enter quarterfinals of 2011 Madrid Challengers tournament here in Madrid, Spain.
Seeded number one at the Association of Tennis Professionals tournament, Machado looked to attack his opponent right from the start of the match. In an excellent display of clay court tennis, the Portuguese played very aggressively
from deep behind the baseline. Hitting his backhand and forehand winners all over the court, he timed the ball superbly in a match that lasted for only one hour and 35 minutes.
Hitting 77 per cent of his first serve, he always looked in control of service game points. Besides his formidable attacking abilities, Machado had a rock solid defence as well. Saving five out five break points against himself,
he certainly dented his opponent’s confidence levels. Claiming 43 per cent of the points on return, he was strong and effective at receiving end as well.
Ranked 62nd in the world, Machado will be looking to continue his impressive form in the upcoming matches of the tournament as well to win his first title of the season. Although he has been quite dominant so far in
this competition, he will be facing a bigger challenge in the last eight as more competitive tennis is expected to take place.
Torebko will be disappointed with his overall performance. He was unable to handle the heat out there and he eventually paid the ultimate price. Hitting only 40 per cent first serve in the match, he created problems for himself.
Making double faults at crucial stages of the match, he allowed his rival to take the driving seat. Not converting a single break chance in the match, he was always asking for trouble.
World number 302, Torebko will be hoping to learn from his mistakes and comeback stronger on his next appearance on the tour.
Machado made a strong start to the match and he broke the serve early to earn 4-2 lead in the opening set. Holding on to his service games without any problem, he held on to his game score advantage to take 1-0 set score lead.
The second set followed a pretty similar trend as Machado looked in complete control in all aspects of the game. Breaking the serve twice, he completed an emphatic straight sets victory to move ahead at the Challengers tournament.
Consistency is going to be the key as he takes on other top seeded players in the final stages.
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