Shanghai Rolex Masters, China

[CR44] Vasek Pospisil (CAN) plays high risk tennis and when he is on and his shots go in, it’s exciting.  The down side to this approach is the high ratio of errors and the lack of rhythm that his opponent contends with.  When his confidence is shaky and his timing is off, an astute player can take advantage; that is exactly what [CR28] Santiago Giraldo (COL) did in the second set.

Pospisil despite having break points to take the match in straight sets, could not keep the ball in play. They played a tie-break where Pospisil continued to struggle with his groundstrokes, squandering several match points.

Pospisil’s serve had kept him in the match and a crafty player, not distracted by his emotions, would have remained focused and capitalized on his opportunities; however, Giraldo was too upset.  He fell apart mentally after a “questionable” decision by the Chair Umpire and never regained his focus.  Pospisil won the match 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1, despite his less than convincing play.