Sunday, February 6, 2011

Giraldo vs Robredo in Santiago Final

Giraldo vs Robredo in Santiago Final

Santiago Giraldo defeated Potito Starace 4-6 7-6 6-1 to set up a final meeting with Tommy Robredo in the final of the Movistar Open tennis tournament in Santiago de Chile.

The Spaniard Robredo made it past Fabio Fognini with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 win.

This will be Giraldo's first ATP final. In 2011 he has reached the quarterfinals three times already.

Giraldo was broken once in losing the first set, but he held in the second by winning the tiebreak, and then overpowered the Italian in the final set.

Giraldo said: “It was a very tough match. His serve is very difficult to return, and it doesn’t help with these dry conditions. It took me some time to get used to it and I started to read his serve better in the second set tie-break.

“I am so happy to have reached this first final. As I said before, I worked very hard during the off season and it’s paying off. I really look forward to tomorrow. I will give everything I have.”

Robredo and Fabio Fognini battled to hold their serves during the match. After dropping serve twice in the first set, Robredo was broken once in both the second and third sets but broke his opponent back five times in the final two sets to advance to the final.

Robredo said: “I didn’t start well today but I am happy I was able to turn the situation around. To win a semi-final and be in the final means a lot and I hope tomorrow I can win a fifth match here and lift the trophy. Giraldo is a very complete player, that hits hard from both sides and who plays very well in altitude. We will see how it goes.”