Alexandr Dolgopolov and Jurgen Melzer will meet in Valencia Open 2012 semis after claiming straight set victories in their quarterfinal matches.
Ukrainian Dolgopolov and his quarterfinal opponent Marcel Granollers are only three spots apart on ATP rankings, yet there was a giant gap of quality between the unseeded players in Valencia today. The defending champion Spaniard was unable to get on board in the opener as Dolgopolov efficiently converted three out of four of his break ball chances. Furthermore, he dropped no more than three points on his serve in that part of the game and went one nil up in mere twenty-five minutes. Granollers did slightly improve on his performance later on, although he was never a contender in the following set either. The Ukrainian acquired a double break lead by 5-2 and served the match out in style with a love game. Granollers had an abysmal first serve point percentage (41%) as opposed to Dolgopolov’s 91%, so not surprisingly the latter achieved a 6-0, 6-2 thrashing victory.
The clash between another pair of unseeded competitors was much tighter, although David Goffin of Belgium did not manage to extend Austrian Melzer to three sets. The opening set serving left a lot to be desired as both of the athletes conceded three breaks by 5-5. In the end, Melzer was successful in the tie-break lottery and seized the opener with his fourth set ball. Far more stable service games in the set number two with a single break making the difference between the rivals. Melzer thus confirmed his seventh game break to move 5-3 up and served out the clash in the first attempt. The score: 7-6 (7), 6-4 for the Austrian who has beaten his next opponent Dolgopolov in their only previous encounter at China Open 2012.
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