Cypriot top ranked star, Marcos Baghdatis, crippled the Colombian star, Alejandro Falla, with a breadstick at the Western and Southern Open 2012 on Tuesday. He penned down a 6-4, 6-1 victory against the 28-year-old to cruise into the second round at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters 1000 event taking place in Cincinnati, Mason.
The 27-year-old stomped over the left-handed Colombian to advance at this Emirates Airline US Open Series event. The players last fought each other at the Mutua Madrid Open in Spain and after earning this success, Baghdatis improved to a 2-0 lifetime in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series against the world number 54.
Baghdatis stepped into the Lindner Family Tennis Center with conviction. He conquered his entire serves without facing any trouble. The Cypriot cashed in the lone break chance to get the breakthrough, eventually sealing the opener with a 6-4 win.
Ranked 42nd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Baghdatis kept momentum floating in the proceeding set. He failed to block the lone breakpoint he came across. However, the Cypriot broke his rival’s entire serves to carve out the victory with a breadstick.
Summing up the Limassol native’s performance, Baghdatis coughed more double faults but registered a slightly higher first serve share of 60 per cent as opposed to the Colombian’s 58 per cent. He also amazingly clinched 20 out of 26 points on it and finished the match with 55 points.
Next challenge for Baghdatis is the Canadian number one, Milos Raonic. The youngster, who is enjoying his career best rank at 19 after making a quarter-final berth at the Rogers Cup, eased past France’s Richard Gasquet to set up this meeting.
Another Colombian, Santiago Giraldo, faced a similar fate later that day. He bowed out to the Argentinean star, Carlos Berlocq, in brutal straight sets, subsequently exiting from the opening round with disappointment. The world number 46 capitalised on two out of five break chances but was broken four times.
Berlocq on the other end set up a date with the 10th seed, Mardy Fish, in the round of 32.