Santiago Giraldo outplayed Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the first round at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open
Santiago Giraldo of Colombia ousted Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain in the first round at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open. Colombian booked his spot in the second round after defeating his opponent in three sets 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3 at the
Tennis Garden of Indian Wells. It took 2 hours and 28 minutes for the Colombian to register a win against the Spaniard.
Giraldo, who is 23 years old, currently enjoys his career best ranking of being 44th in the world. His opponent, Gimeno-Traver, has been playing tennis professionally for seven years now and is ranked 61st
in the world.
This was the pair’s third meeting with their latest having been two months ago at the Heineken Open in Auckland. Giraldo had then ambushed Gimeno-Traver to take a 2-0 lead in the official head to head score since their first meeting
at Bogota, Colombia 3 years ago.
The first set saw the pair playing equally well. The 23 year old landed 64 per cent of the first serves and managed to convert a much higher 83 per cent of points on them. On the other hand, Gimeno-Traver landed 56 per cent of
the first serves luckily managed to convert 80 per cent of points from them a much closer to his opponent.
Although Giraldo failed to face a single break point, he was able to successfully convert one of two break opportunities to his advantage securing a 6-4 win for himself, going one up in the set score.
Giraldo was all set to govern the second set as well however, this time he faced opposition from his opponent who fought back by landing 54 per cent first serves. However, Gimeno-Traver managed to win 62 per cent of points from
first serves which provided him with the edge that he needed to bring the set score on even terms. The Spaniard was able to clinch a 7-6(5) in the second set.
The third set was an all-Giraldo show. Completely ruling his opponent once again, the Colombian landed 59 per cent of the first serves winning 75 per cent of the points on them. On the other hand, the Spanish managed to land only
45 per cent of the first serves, though he managed a similar 71 per cent win on it.
The Colombian also managed to save 100 percent break points while his Spanish opponent only managed 4 of 5.
Conclusively the Colombian was able to grasp a win for himself in the final set, enlisting a 6-3 win. He now moves on ahead to play the French, Michael Llodra. Seeded 24th at the event, Llodra received a bye into the second round.
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