Capable of the best and the worst. Fernando Verdasco’s inconsistency over the years has become such a common occurrence that you could perhaps suggest that he is consistently inconsistent. After surprising the world of tennis and knocking out Rafa Nadal in the first round of the Australian Open (including a whopping 90 winners), Verdasco showed his other -and frustratingly more common- side today at the Ecuador Open.
Few players possess the Spaniard’s beautiful technique and capacity to hit thunderous groundstrokes and it makes it all the much tougher to watch when he doesn’t extract the maximum of his talent. Today he served up nine double faults as he crashed out in the second round of the Ecuador Open against 158-ranked Argentine qualifier Renzo Olivo 7-6, 3-6, 6-3.
Verdasco was a break up in the final set but until he’s showered and dressed in the changing rooms there’s no guarantee that he will seal the win and, once again, it was the case. Take nothing away from Olivo who was extremely solid and made the most of his opponent’s ups and downs to reach the quarter finals and thereby assure himself a new career high ranking next week.
Olivo will go face to face with defending champion Victor Estrella after the Dominican overcame another qualifier, Andrej Martin, 7-5, 6-1. “I feel very comfortable here in Quito, it’s one of my homes and I always receive the support of the fans. I improved as the match went on, I grew in confidence and I finished it off“, said Estrella who took one step closer to defending his title.
Also featuring in the quarter finals will be Spain’s Albert Ramos who overcame a surprisingly competitive Rajeev Ram 6-7, 6-3, 7-5. Ramos awaits the winner of Feliciano Lopez v Joao Souza.
