Spaniard Nicolas Almagro advances to Abierto Mexicano Telcel semi-final after beating Santiago Giraldo
Nicholas Almagro continued his golden run of form at the Golden Swing by winning his twelfth consecutive match to progress to the semifinals of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco today. The third seed defeated Columbia’s Santiago Giraldi in possibly
his toughest match since the Australian open. The final score of 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 shows exactly how hard the match was, swinging first one way then the other, before Almagro finally wrapped it up.
The Spaniard has won his last two tournaments in Latin America and hasn’t suffered a defeat since the Australian Open. He is also a two time winner at this event in Acapulco. Were it not for the participation of two World top ten players, his compatriots
David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco, he would’ve been the top seed here. He is the highest seed remaining in the bottom half of the draw and the unofficial favourite for the trophy.
Giraldi is world no.48. He lost his last match against Almagro in a tough three setter at the Bank Austria Tennis trophy in 2010. The Columbian has been on a good run recently, having won 10 of his 15 matches this year. While he struggled a little in his
first round tie, his straight set victory over 5th seed Albert Montanes was a complete show of dominance. Consequently, an exciting match was expected between the two clay court specialists.
The first set started off with both players serving quite well. Giraldi kept in 61 per cent of his first serves while Almagro bettered him with 65 per cent first serves in. He also won a good 65 per cent of his points on serve. Giraldi managed only 54 per
cent, but still managed to equal the two breaks Almagro earned. This level footing led to a tie-break, which turned out to be a completely one-sided affair. Almagro soaked up the heat to win 7-0 and wrap up the set in style.
The second set saw the 3rd seed slip a bit in intensity. His first serve percentage dropped to 56 and he converted only 33 per cent of the points on his second serve. His opponent was better, but not by much, as he too gave up four opportunities
to break compared to the Spaniard’s five. Giraldi also capitalised on the chances more, breaking thrice, after being broken twice himself, to edge ahead and claim the set 7-5.
The last set saw Almagro grow worse on the serve, as he kept in only 48 per cent of his first serves. Giraldi improved his percentage to 69, but was not as good as converting serves to points. Dominant return play by the higher seed saw him create 3 break
points, only one of which he needed to wrap up the set and the match.
Almagro faces Brazil’s Tomaz Belluci next. Belluci defeated 2nd seed Fernando Verdasco in the first round and has had a good showing at the Golden Swing so far. But Almagro’s record here is spotless, and the way he is playing leaves very little
to chance. Belluci needs a super-human effort if he is to stop the freight-train that is Almagro, and if he does produce that effort, fans are in for a treat.
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