Santiago Giraldo rallies past Daniel Munoz-De La Nava into the main draw – Mutua Madrid Open 2012
World number 53, Santiago Giraldo of Colombia, bounced back after getting thrashed in the first set to beat Spanish contender, Daniel Munoz-De La Nava, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the final round of the qualifying draw at the Mutua Madrid
Open in Spain on Sunday.
Munoz-De La Nava stunned his opponent with the impressive start he made to the match, as the Spaniard struck twice and allowed Giraldo to claim only one game till the end, sealing it 6-1.
The Madrid, Spain resident had a below average first serve percentage of 52 but amazingly converted 13 of the 15 of them into points in the opener. The left-hander did not allow Giraldo to win any easy points, snatching 10 of the
18 first and four of the eight second return points.
In the second set, Munoz-De La Nava and Giraldo started steadily, holding their serve in the first nine games to take the score to 5-4 in favour of the Colombian. Serving to stay in the set, the Spaniard could not hold and went
down 4-6.
Giraldo smashed a single ace and 70 percent of the first serves in the second set, converting 14 of the 19 of them into points. The Bogota, Colombia resident was unstoppable on the second deliveries too, as he grabbed six of the
eight points on them. The 24-year-old did not face any break point and converted one of the two he received.
With the winning momentum on his side, Giraldo made an ideal start in the final set, as he secured opening three games to attain a 3-0 lead. The Colombian hit another blow in the eighth to close it 6-2.
The 6ft 2in tall hit one ace and committed equal number of double fault in the decider. He retained his advantage on serves, putting in 73 percent of the first deliveries and bagging 19 of the 24 points on them. He lost six of
the nine points on the second serves but compensated that by winning five of the 10 on the second returns. The right-hander avoided all the three threats he came across and availed two of the three of his own chances.
Giraldo required two hours and six minutes to throw the local player out of the event.
The Colombian will now play either the world number 29, Marcel Granollers of Spain or the 38th ranked Argentine, Carlos Berlocq, in the second round.
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