ATP Cordoba: Juan Ignacio Londero and Guido Pella chase the first title
With three players from Argentina reaching an ATP semi-final for the first time since Vina del Mar in 2012, the crowd at the inaugural Cordoba Open could enjoy in another successful day for the home players, with two of them reaching the title match. Competing at only his fourth ATP tournament in a career, the 25-year-old Juan Ignacio Londero received a wild card and used it with both hands, entering the first ever ATP final after a dominant 6-1, 6-0 triumph over Federico Delbonis in precisely an hour! Heading to Cordoba with no ATP wins under his belt, Juan Ignacio has become the first player who has reached the final at the event where he claimed the maiden ATP win since Luca Vanni in Sao Paulo 2015, also entering the top-100 for the first time with these points.
Londero and Delbonis played one of the most one-sided ATP semi-finals of the season, with only one player on the court from start to finish, despite the lack of experience. Serving at 71%, Londero lost just 12 points in seven service games, never facing a break point and delivering a similar performance on the return to march towards the finish line in no time at all. Delbonis was miles from those numbers in his games, serving below 50% and hitting eight double faults to make things even worse, never finding the rhythm and suffering five breaks from 12 chances he gave to Londero.
The world no. 112 held after a deuce at the start of the match and moved ahead in the following game when Federico ejected a forehand wide. Juan Ignacio gained a 5-1 lead after a break at 15 in game six following a return winner, sealing the opener with a service winner a few minutes later and gaining confidence before the rest of the encounter. Delbonis got broken at the start of the second set after a great battle and he simply faded from the court, allowing Londero to win all six games and advance into the first ATP final in the strongest possible way.
The second semi-final offered more exciting tennis, with the 8th seed Guido Pella ousting Pablo Cuevas 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in an hour and 52 minutes for the place in the fourth ATP final, reaching one in the last four seasons and seeking the first title just like Londero. Pablo first had to finish the quarter-final match that was halted last night, having not much left in the tank for Pella despite a solid effort and almost a two-hour clash. The Argentine held everything under control in his service games, facing three break points and suffering one break, making a strong start and waiting patiently for more chances on the return in sets two and three.
Pablo hit 11 aces but his second serve let him down, offering seven break chances to his rival and losing serve thrice to end his run in the semi-final. Guido was in the hitting zone from the very first game, serving well and recording breaks in games two and six for a 6-1 after an ace in the seventh game. Cuevas bounced back in the second set, forging a lead with a break in game two and fending off a break point at 5-3 with an ace before bringing it home with another good serve to set up a decider. Pella left the second set behind him instantly, creating the gap at the beginning of the third set and staying ahead all the time to wrap up the triumph with a service winner in the ninth game and move closer to the maiden ATP crown.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2BtTprn
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