Ferrer Vaults Into Rio Quarter-Finals
Ferrer Vaults Into Rio Quarter-Finals
Spaniard rallies against countryman
David Ferrer overcame a first-set hiccup to down countryman Albert Ramos-Vinolas 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the second round of the Rio Open on Thursday. Looming in the quarter-finals will be an in-form Dominic Thiem, who won the Buenos Aires title on clay less than a week ago.
Ferrer came into the match with a commanding 5-0 advantage in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against Ramos-Vinolas, but faltered in his opening service game en route to dropping the first set in 51 minutes. The tenacious Ferrer righted the ship, only losing serve once more in the next two sets to reach his fourth ATP World Tour quarter-final of the year.
Guido Pella lost just eight points in the second set of a 6-4, 6-0 win over Santiago Giraldo. The Argentine secured the win in 80 minutes and will face Daniel Gimeno-Traver in his second ATP World Tour quarter-final appearance (2013 Dusseldorf, l. to Monaco). Pella had saved three match points in the first round against John Isner.
In the evening session, top seed Rafael Nadal will attempt to record his 14th win in 15 meetings against Nicolas Almagro, last week’s finalist in Buenos Aires.