Santiago Giraldo surprises Jurgen Melzer in the second round – Shanghai Rolex Masters 2011
Local crowd at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai, China, was in for yet another surprising result, as the world number 20, Jurgen Melzer of Austria, crashed out of the second round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters, at the hands of the 48th
ranked Colombian, Santiago Giraldo, on Wednesday afternoon.
Unseeded in the contest, Giraldo took two hours and twenty four minutes of play to wrap up his surprise victory in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(5), making it to the third round of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters Series event.
The Colombian kept his winning run against 14th seed Melzer, as he already defeated the Austrian in Stuttgart, Germany, earlier this season and his Wednesday’s victory levelled the head-to-head series at 2-2 against him.
23-year-old Giraldo was off to an ordinary start in the first set and fell on the back foot early when the Austrian took the opener with his aggressive game play. Tide turned in the very next set, as Giraldo came out firing at Melzer and pocketed the second
set with ease to bring him back on even terms. Intense tennis was played in the final set, with both contestants throwing out their best at each other to remain alive in the competition. The Colombian displayed his steely nerves to tackle the intense pressure
situation in the third set tie breaker and eventually came out as the winner in the end.
Melzer squandered away seven break opportunities in the matchup, converting just two chances to finish on the losing side. Giraldo cashed both of his break points in the contest and displayed brilliant power hitting in the last two sets to turn the tables
on Melzer.
Giraldo will either play against the world number eight, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, or the 47th ranked Japanese contestant, Kei Nishikori, in the third round clash. Tsonga and Nishikori will go one-on-one against each other on Wednesday afternoon
and the winner of the two will face the Colombian for a place in the quarter-final of the Shanghai Masters.
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