ATP Barcelona: Verdasco ends Lopez's streak. Schwartzman, Paire, Munar win
Forgetting to sign in time, world no. 25 Diego Schwartzman had to pass the qualifying round in Barcelona and he made a solid start in the main draw as well, beating Yoshihito Nishioka 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in two hours and 19 minutes. It was not the match of the highest quality, with 36 break points up for grabs and 12 breaks in total, seven for Diego who had the edge in the decider to avoid an early exit. From 4-2 down in the opener, Nishioka claimed four straight breaks for a 6-4, staying in touch in set number two where he erased a 4-2 deficit to move closer to the finish line.
Serving to stay in the set at 4-5, Yoshihito suffered a break that proved to be pivotal, handing the set to his rival who had all the momentum now before the final part of the match. Saving three break points at 1-1 in the third set, Diego claimed 16 of the last 19 points to march into the second round. Home star Jaume Munar had to work hard against a qualifier Pedro Sousa, playing better and better in a 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory. Serving at 71%, Sousa did a great job in the opening set before starting to lose ground, losing more than half of the points behind the initial shot and giving serve away six times from 12 chances offered to Munar.
The Spaniard recovered his game after a slow opening set (four straight breaks he suffered) and sailed towards the finish line once he secured the second set for the 14th win of the season so far. Dominating on the return, Sousa won the opener 6-2 with four breaks, hitting a service winner in the eighth game for the best possible start. Jaume went from terrible to brilliant, dropping only four points on serve in set number two and breaking Sousa at 5-4 when the Portuguese hit a forehand long. There was nothing Sousa could do by the end of the match and Jaume claimed all six games in set number three, moving over the top after a backhand error from Pedro in game six.
Marrakech champion Benoit Paire needed 71 minutes to dismiss Juan Ignacio Londero 7-5, 6-2, losing only 15 points in ten service games and saving lone break point he faced to mount the pressure on the other side of the net. Londero got broken three times from six chances he gave to the Frenchman, staying in touch until 5-5 when Paire broke him, closing the opener with a backhand winner in the next game for a 7-5. Benoit never looked back, delivering one good hold after another in set number two and securing breaks in games three and five for a massive lead. Serving for the win at 5-2, Paire blasted three winners to move over the top and grab another great victory after a long string of mediocre results.
In the battle of the Spanish veterans, Fernando Verdasco defeated Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-3 for the sixth time in 11 encounters, sending Feliciano out from the top-100 for the first time since 2002 and ending the third-longest Open era streak behind Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors. Landing 73% of the first serve in, Verdasco repelled two out of three break points and the 37-year-old couldn't follow the same pace, serving at only 44% and suffering three breaks from five chances given to Fernando.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2GuqZ25
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