Verdasco vs Granollers in Gstaad final
Fernando Verdasco defeated Nicolas Almagro 6-7 (2), 7-6 (2), 6-3 to set up a meeting with Marcel Granollers, who beat Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, at the Gstaad Allianz Suisse Open final.
Verdasco broke to start the third set and broke Almagro a third time to complete the victory.
Fernandohit 13 aces and saved four of the five break points he faced.
"We had very few chances to break each other in the first two sets because I think we were both playing well on serve," reflected Verdasco. "In the first set tie-break he played better, in the second set tie-break I played better. I started the third set with more confidence and he started missing more; that helped me to take the advantage. It was a very difficult match, very mental, and I just tried to play point-by-point."
Looking ahead to the final, Verdasco said, "I want to do well, but I will not change my game because of him. Here with the altitude, the matches are always very close. If you serve well, it’s all about the returns and getting the ball back in. It’s going to be a very difficult match, he’s playing very good."
Granollers converted six of 15 break point opportunities. He trailed 2-0 in the deciding set then reeled off six straight games to reach his first final of the season.
“I started the match very well,” recalled Granollers. “But I lost my serve in the first game of the second set and then the match changed a little bit because Youzhny started to play better and better. In the final set I was 2-0 down, but I broke him and then the match changed again and I finished it very well.”
Source ATP
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