Guido Pella reaches quarterfinals of Argentina Open
Guido Pella advanced to the quarterfinals of the Argentina Open, after defeating Spanish player Fernando Verdasco with authority, by 6-2 and 6-4 in the match that opened the third day at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club.
Pella took one hour and 17 minutes to defeat Verdasco and make it to the eight best players of the ATP Buenos Aires for the first time in his career, which was celebrated by the more than 3,000 people who defied the heat and attended the match.
The great merit of Pella was concentration, as he came out to play with a defined game plan and did not abandon it until he was ahead 6-2 and 4-1, against a left-handed opponent like him who had played very well in the first round when he defeated Brazilian Thiago Monteiro in straight sets.
Pella, 27 years old, returned perfectly and broke the Madrid native's serve twice, first to take the lead 2-1 and then 4-1.
The Argentine easily closed the set with a comfortable 6-2, and in the second set, he went up 4-1 with two more breaks, but it was there when he stopped attacking, adopted a more defensive posture, and conceded his service to be 4-3.
Pella quickly realized what was happening in the match and returned to his initial plan of moving the Spaniard from side to side, thus finding the necessary gaps again and reached match point with his service, after a precise smash that left Verdasco perplexed.
The match ended with a very good first serve from Pella that Verdasco hit into the net, unleashing the celebration with a clenched fist and receiving the fans' ovation.
Regarding Diego Schwartzman, he had to fight for almost two hours against Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, but managed to win the match 3-6, 6-3, and 6-2. The Argentine was seen hesitant at the beginning, unable to cope with Bellucci's aggressive game, but through perseverance, conviction, and mental strength, he turned it around and won the match.
Meanwhile, Slovenian Aljaz Bedene caused the first big surprise of the Argentina Open by eliminating Spanish player Albert Ramos, the third seed, with a score of 3-6, 7-5, and 6-1. Bedene, ranked 51st in the ATP world rankings, performed better as the match went on and won in two hours and 12 minutes.
TODAY'S SCHEDULE
Main court. 14:00: Guillermo García López (Spain) vs Pablo Carreño Busta (Spain). Following: Federico Delbonis (Argentina) vs. Gastao Elias (Portugal). Not before 18.45: Gael Monfils (France) vs. Dusan Lajovic (Serbia). Following: Leonardo Mayer (Argentina) vs. Fabio Fognini (Italy). Court 2.- 16:30: David Marrero (Spain) and Fernando Verdasco (Spain) vs. Diego Schwartzman (Argentina) and Dominic Thiem (Austria). Following: Juan Sebastián Cabal (Colombia) and Robert Farah (Colombia) vs. Pablo Carreño Busta (Spain) and Pablo Cuevas (Uruguay). Following: Hans Podlipnik Castillo (Chile) and Andrei Vasilevski (Belarus) vs. Andrés Molteni (Argentina) and Horacio Zeballos (Argentina). It is worth mentioning that TyC Sports broadcasts the matches.