Santiago Giraldo ousts Henri Laaksonen to reach round two – Credit Agricole Suisse Open 2012
Seventh seed, Santiago Giraldo, took down the local wildcard entrant, Henri Laaksonen, in straight sets at the Credit Agricole Suisse Open 2012 on Wednesday. He penned down a 6-2, 6-2 success against the world number 462 to power into the pre-quarters at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event taking place in Gstaad, Switzerland.
The Colombian star, Giraldo, showed brilliant abilities to outrun the local challenger in 69 minutes. After earning the spotlight in one hour and nine minutes, Giraldo edged in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series by 1-0 against the Swiss but also booked a spot in the round of 16.
Giraldo made a strong entry at this outdoor clay court tournament and drew the first blood in the third game to jump to a 3-1 lead. He maintained his intensity and cashed in another break chance in the seventh game, eventually pulling out the opener by winning six games to two.
Ranked 39th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Giraldo kept momentum flowing into the following set and earned the coveted break in the opening game to jump to a 2-0 lead. He swiped his remaining serves with poise and capitalised on another break chance in the fifth game, subsequently sealing the deal with a 6-2 win.
Summing up the Colombian’s performance, Giraldo displayed brilliant defensive skills and ward off all five breakpoints he came across. He also clobbered a brilliant first serve share of 72 per cent as opposed to the Swiss’ 31 per cent and marked 28 out of 36 points on it.
Up next for Giraldo is the Czech qualifier, Jan Hernych, who battled past his fellow qualifier, Matteo Viola, in a three-set thriller to set up this duel.
The Brazilian star, Thomaz Bellucci, also stole the show later that day. He nudged up a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 upset victory against fourth seeded Mikhail Youzhny in two hours and eight minutes. Bellucci blocked four out of six breakpoints he faced and broke his rival’s serve four times to record the victory. He bagged the match for the first time in their fourth meeting against the Russian.
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