Santiago Giraldo upsets Fabio Fognini to advance into quarterfinal – Bet-At-Home Cup 2011
Colombian Santiago Giraldo registered a surprise victory over the fourth seeded Italian Fabio Fognini at the Bet-At-Home Cup 2011, an ATP World Tour 250 series event held on the clay courts in Kitzbuhel, Austria. He registered
a 6-3, 6-4 victory over the 24-year-old Italian to advance into the last eight on Wednesday.
World number 62 Giraldo took almost one and half hour to overpower the Italian, ranked twenty-eight places above him, at the Tennis stadium Kitzbuhel on their first meeting.
The Bogota resident, Giraldo took an early lead after earning the coveted break in the second game. However, he lost his serve in the very next game and repeated the same thing in the following two games to eventually level the
scores at 3-3. The Colombian then unleashed his true form and wiped out last three games consecutively. In the end, he pocketed the opening set with a 6-3 score line.
He outshined the Italian in every department of tennis. Giraldo clobbered a much better first serve share of 58 percent as compared to Italian’s 48 percent and registered a plausible 53 percent win on it. Furthermore, he failed
to save both breakpoints faced but capitalised on three out of seven breakpoint chances to his advantage.
Giraldo kept momentum floating in the final set and broke the Italian’s serve in the very first game. Although he gifted away his serve in the following game, the Colombian broke Fognini’s serve again in the fifth game and held
remaining serves to seal the set with a 6-4 win.
He produced 69 percent of first serve share which was slightly higher than Italian’s 67 percent. However, Giraldo earned an amazing 68 percent win on it. He further mustered the set by saving a breakpoint faced and by capitalising
on both breakpoint opportunities to his advantage.
23-year-old will next face the winner of the match between fifth seeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber and Spaniard Albert Montanes.
Top seed Juan Ignacio Chela on the other hand had a different fate. The Argentinean will be joining Giraldo in the last eight after rallying past Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver in a three set thriller.
Chela made quick in-roads after exchanging two early breaks and converting the third breakpoint chance to his advantage in the end to clinch the opener with a 6-4 win.
31-year-old lost his ways in the second set and by losing his serve once, he suffered a 3-6 defeat.
However, the Argentinean got back on track in the decider and with the help of a single breakpoint opportunity in the fourth game, Chela sealed the final set with a 6-3 score line after converting it to his advantage.l
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