Simone Vagnozzi outlasts Guido Andreozzi in the first round – AON Open Challenger 2012
Ranked 233rd in the world, Simone Vagnozzi of Italy made a solid finish against Argentina’s Guido Andreozzi in the opening round of the AON Open Challenger event in Genova, Italy.
Vagnozzi dropped a close first set but he lost just three games in the rest of the contest, beating his Argentinean opponent 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-1 after a battle of two hours and 16 minutes.
Vagnozzi and Andreozzi made a stable start, as they held their serve in the first seven games and take the score to 4-3 in favour of the latter. The Argentinean contestant clinched initial breakthrough in the eighth to move ahead
5-3 but he lost two in a row after that to equalise the proceedings at 5-5. The following two games went with serve, levelling the score at 6-6 and taking it to a tie-breaker. Andreozzi captured 4-0 lead and did not allow the Italian player to bounce back
after that, closing it 7-6(2).
The Argentinean participant bombarded five aces on Vagnozzi but also made one double fault in the opener. The right-hander had a low first serve percentage of 53 but succeeded in pocketing 19 of the 24 points on them.
Vagnozzi raised the level of his play in the second set and looked like a completely different player, capturing opening three games to race to a 3-0 lead. The Italian contestant hit another blow in the eighth to grab it 6-2.
The 5ft 8in tall, Vagnozzi, neither hit an ace nor committed any double fault but his first serve percentage and conversion rate was brilliant. The 29-year-old delivered 76 percent of the first deliveries and secured 17 of the
22 points on them. The Castorano, Italy resident put away both break threats he came across and availed two of the six he created in the second set.
Vagnozzi came roaring in the decider, winning first five games to build a 5-0 advantage. The Italian dropped the sixth one but held his serve in the seventh to seal it 6-1.
The unseeded player will play the winner of the match between Lukas Rosol and Tommy Robredo in the second round.
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