Houston: Colombia`s Santiago Giraldo sent second-seeded Tommy Robredo packing Thursday, while two other seeded Spaniards made it safely into the quarter-finals of the US Men`s Clay Court Championship.
Giraldo saved all four break points he faced en route to a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Robredo, who was making his Houston debut.
"I had a lot of chances in a lot of games, and every time it was 0-30, 15-30, I was hitting three in a row straight to the fence," Robredo said. "With this, there`s no chance to win."
It was a different story for third-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro and number four Fernando Verdasco, who both moved into the last eight of the ATP event.
Almagro, last year`s runner-up in Houston, cruised past American Michael Russell 6-2, 6-3 while left-hander Verdasco got past American Steve Johnson 6-0, 4-6, 6-3.
Almagro, 28, peppered Russell with seven aces, denying the Houston resident a second quarter-final appearance of the season.
Almagro next faces 21-year-old American Jack Sock, a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Germany`s Benjamin Becker.
"I played really good tennis today," Almagro said. "I am happy with my tennis. I played very aggressive."
Verdasco dropped serve just once and converted four of his five break chances against Johnson, who arrived in Houston at a career-high 69th in the world after winning the Le Gosier Challenger last week.
"This is my first match on clay this season," Verdasco said. "I`ve been just trying to get the rhythm and feel the ball as much as I can. Even when I wasn`t playing that well, mentally I was well."
Verdasco next faces 24-year-old American Donald Young, who upset sixth-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-3.
Colombian Alejandro Gonzalez reached his first ATP quarter-final with a truncated victory over fifth-seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.
Gonzalez was leading 6-3, 2-0 when Lopez retired with severe allergies that he said left him "really sick."
Reuters
First Published: Friday, April 11, 2014, 12:55
