TENNIS ATP ZAGREB – Spanish player Guillermo Garcia Lopez beat Italian Andreas Seppi 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in one hour and 37 minutes in the ATP 250 Indoor Tournament in Zagreb to secure his fourth career title. There were no breaks in the opening set which came down to the tie-break where Lopez fought back from 1-4 down in the first-set tie-break by reeling off six consecutive points to seal the first set. At 1-4 Garcia Lopez won a 47-shot rally turning around the match in his favour. Diego Sampaolo
The second set went on serve until the fifth game of the second set when Seppi got the first break of the match to take the 3-2 lead but Garcia Lopez recovered by breaking back immediately and reeling off the next four games to clinch the win when Seppi hit his backhand into the net. Garcia Lopez scored his first win after losing his previous three head-to-head matches against Seppi. The Spanish player has lifted his first title since he beat Marcel Granollers in Casablanca 2014.
Garcia Lopez converted on two of his five break points and hit 25 winners. Garcia Lopez, who reached the fourth round at the Australian Open, had secured his spot into the final with a 6-4 6-4 win over Marcos Bagdatis in the semifinal.
“This was very emotional. He played good tennis to get to 4-1 in the tie-break and I think it was very important to win the long rally at 4-3. When I broke back in the second I think he was very disappointed. I have never played very well against Seppi. His style is not good for my game. He is solid from both sides. Today I tried to change the rhythm. This is an emotional moment. You don’t win a tournament every week. It was just my fourth title during my whole career ”, said Garcia Lopez.
Despite the defeat in the final Seppi played a solid tournament and can look forward to a bright future after a good start to his season in which he reached the semifinal in Doha before beating Roger Federer in the fourth round at the Australian Open and qualifying for his seventh career final in Zagreb. The player from Caldaro coached by Max Sartori beat Marcel Granollers 7-6 6-1 in the semifinal with four breaks of serve on his five break point opportunities. In the semifinal Seppi was a break down in the first set but he recovered well to secure the opening set at the tie-break before getting a break early in the second set.
Seppi confirmed his ability to win very hard match, like the quarter final against Rikardas Berankis where the Italian player fought back from a set down to win 3-6 6-2 7-6. In this match Seppi failed to serve the match at 6-5 before fighting back from 1-4 in the tie-break to edge Berankis 8-6.
“I was tired mentally and physically by the end of the second set. I tried to stay calm but I felt that I had no energy. I was a step away from winning the tournament but I have to see the positive things. I didn’t play my best tennis but I made it to the final with some good fighting spirit so it is pretty positive”, said Seppi
