Of the 10 matches completed on Tuesday at the BCR Open Romania in Bucharest, seven of them went the distance, with No. 1 Richard Gasquet, No. 3 Nicolas Almagro and No. 6 Carlos Moya (pictured) all pulling out victories in three sets.After a surprise first round exit at the US Open, Gasquet was a late entry into the field, as he was granted a wild card right before the draw was made. The 22-year-old, who has yet to win a title this season, battled his way back from a break down in the final set to secure a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, victory over Spaniard Oscar Hernandez. Gasquet smashed 10 aces en route to his 24th victory of the season, earning him a spot in the second round where he will face Romanian qualifier Victor Crivoi, a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, winner over Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo.
One of the most interesting matches of the day was between Spaniard Almagro and Somdev Devvarman, a two-time NCAA Singles Champion while at the University of Virginia, who recently became a full time member of the ATP Tour. The singles winner at Costa do Sauipe (Brazil) and Acapulco (Mexico), Almagro was able to smash 11 aces and break the Indian qualifier’s serve on five occasions to advance to face compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the second round.
Despite winning the French Open in 1998 and 20 titles throughout his career that started in 1995, Moya has struggled all season long and has seen his ranking drop from No. 18 on January 7, 2008 to his current No. 61 ranking. Regardless, Moya used his experience in closing out tight matches to edge past fellow Spaniard Alberto Martin, 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-4. The former World No. 1 recorded 5 aces, while making 75 percent of his first serve to earn just his 21st victory of the year. Moya advanced to the finals in his debut in Bucharest in 1996 losing to crafty Spaniard Alberto Berasategui. Moya next meets Spanish qualifier Pablo Andujar, who beat Argentine Brian Dabul, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Defending champion No. 2 Gilles Simon and No. 8 Jose Acasuso were amongst the other seeded winners on day two. The only seeded player to exit on Tuesday was No. 5 seed Ernests Gulbis of Latvia who fell to Teimuraz Gabashvili in three sets. 2007 finalist and hometown star Victor Hanescu lost to Martin Vassallo Arguello, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.
Posts
2 comments:
I wonder why a player as gasquet goes playing on clay at this time of the season!?
Since he has struggled recently to put together good results and lost in the first round at the US Open, Richard Gasquet probably decided to play the clay court event in Bucharest because it was a good opportunity for him to gain ranking points since he has none to defend this week.
Post a Comment