DEL POTRO LOSES

Gabriela Sabatini’s countryman, Juan Martin Del Potro has been defeated by Jarkko Nieminen of Finland in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters. Nieminen won the match in three sets by 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4).

This was another upset by the Finnish veteran. He had pulled off an upset in the second round too by defeating Milos Raonic of Canada.

Nieminen took 2 hours and 37 minutes to defeat Del Potro. He smashed a total of 51 winners in the match.

Before this match, Del Potro had faced Nieminen 4 times and the Argentinean had won all those matches in straight sets.

Nieminen got a great start in the opening set. He broke Del Potro’s serve in the second game and then, served out the next game to go up by 3-0.

The next 5 games went with the serve and the score was 5-3 in Nieminen’s favour when the 8^th game got over.

Nieminen dropped his serve in the 9^th game which brought down the lead to 5-4.  In the next game, Del Potro required a serve hold to level the scores, but, he couldn’t do that. Nieminen broke his serve for the second time in the set and sealed the set by 6-4.

Nieminen didn’t get a good start in the following set. His serve was broken in the 3^rd game and Del Potro got ahead by 2-1. The Argentinean player didn’t lose that lead thereafter. He won his next 4 service games and grabbed the set by 6-4.

In the decider, Del Potro began with a breakthrough in the very first game. He held his serve in the next game and increased his lead to 2-0. But, that lead remained for a very short period. Nieminen broke back in the 4^th game to make the scores 2-2.

Both the players got a couple of breakthroughs each in the next 8 games which ensured that the tie breaker would decide the outcome of the match.

Nieminen was again very calm in the tie breaker. He didn’t show any sign of nervousness and won the tie breaker comfortably to pull off the second consecutive upset.

In the quarter final, Nieminen will play against the no. 1 player in the world Novak Djokovic.

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Sabatini Movie Rating: five / 5

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DEL POTRO BEATEN

Gabriela Sabatini’s compatriot, Juan Martin Del Potro, has been defeated by Tobias Kamke of Germany in the second round of the Sony Open on Saturday. Kamke won the match in the straight sets by 7-6(5), 6-1.

This was a huge upset. Del Potro had come into this tournament with some form. In the recently played BNP Paribas Open, he had defeated the no. 1 player in the world Novak Djokovic in the semi finals. Also, his world ranking is much higher than Kamke. So, not many people would have expected him to suffer a straight set defeat against a relatively lesser experienced German player. But, it happened. Kamke stunned Del Potro with his ruthless approach.

In the first five games of the opening set, there were no breakthroughs. Del Potro broke in the 6^th game and then, held his serve in the 7^th game to make the score 5-2 in his favour.

By serving out the eighth game, Kamke decreased the lead to 3-5. Del Potro was serving for the set in the 9^th game, but, Kamke didn’t let him serve it out. With a break of serve, he ensured that the set would go further. A serve hold for Kamke in the 10^th game levelled the scores.

Both the players held their serve in the next two games which extended the set into the tie breaker. Kamke continued playing with aggression in the tie breaker as well and won it to grab the set.

In the second set, Del Potro performed poorly on his serve and dropped his serve a couple of times consecutively. As a result of that, Kamke took a lead of 5-0. The Argentinean won his third service game in the set to make it 5-1, but, that was too little to change the course of the match. Kamke served out the 7^th game and secured a huge win.

Kamke’s next opponent will be Jurgen Melzer of Austria.

DEL POTRO BEATS DJOKOVIC

Gabriela Sabatini’s countryman, Juan Martin Del Potro, has beaten Novak Djokovic in the semi finals of the BNP Paribas open and has made his way into the title round. Del Potro won the match by 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

This was Djokovic’s first defeat in the ongoing season. He had won 22 matches on the trot before this match.

It was not a one sided encounter. Both the players had their chances, but, towards the end, it was Del Potro who played calmly and managed to get better of the no. 1 player in the world. Read more »

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