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3/29/09 5:52 AM | Ricky Dimon
Viktor Troicki stuns David Nalbandian in easy straight sets on Saturday afternoon at the Sony Ericsson Open. Only lucky loser Bjorn Phau stands between Troicki and the fourth round.
What a difference a week makes. Viktor Troicki was outclassed by David Nalbandian 6-4, 6-2 just recently at the Masters Series Indian Wells, but Troicki returned the favor in emphatic fashion on Saturday afternoon. The 6'4'' Serb crushed Nalbandian 6-1, 6-3 in one hour and 14 minutes to reach the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open.
Nalbandian dropped serve in the opening game of the match and never recovered. The 15th-ranked Argentine served at a dismal 30 percent clip in the first set and was broken three times. Troicki saved all three of the break points he faced to dominate the opening frame of play 6-1. The real key, however, was Troicki's scrambling ability, which forced Nalbandian to hit far too many shots than he was capable of hitting on Saturday.
More of the same--almost the exact same--continued in set two. Nalbandian again put in just 30 percent of his first deliveries. Troicki only managed to break serve once, but again he saved three break points to consolidate the advantage. A routine service hold at 5-3 finished off the upset victory for Troicki.
Next up for the 23-year-old is lucky loser Bjorn Phau, who replaced Richard Gasquet. Phau is, perhaps, the luckiest of all lucky losers. Because Gasquet had a first-round bye as a seeded player, Phau immediately went into the second round. On Saturday, he moved into the third round when Albert Montanes retired just two games into the second set. To summarize: Phau lost a qualifying match, has won a mere one set in the main draw, and still finds himself in the third round of a Masters Series event.
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Congrat. to Troicki, as I've said yesterday, he can make an surprises, very glad he's done it, go Victor, nothing to loose...
gordana , 3/29/09 11:51 AM
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Ha, ha - reaallly lucky looser!
Viktor should approach him (and the match) seriously, who knows what his luck can bring him next.
Way to go Viktor! All the best in 3rd round!
HogarTheHorrible , 3/29/09 9:48 AM