Very good performance combined with a relatively easy victory, noted Markos Pagdatis in his premiere at the BNP Paribas Open.
After three consecutive defeats in their previous equal meetings, the Cypriot ace managed to achieve his first victory against Jeremy Sardi, whom he defeated 6-3, 6-3, getting the ticket for the 2nd round of the first Masters of the season.
Marcos, No. 47 in the world rankings, caught a very good performance in all areas and only towards the end did he feel a small threat from his opponent but did not lose his temper and sealed the victory after 1 hour and 18 minutes of play in the second largest court of Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
The excellent start of Pagdati in the match, gave him the opportunity to achieve a quick break in the 2nd game (2-0) and then, keeping his service comfortable, reached 6-3 after 35 minutes of play.
In the 2nd set, the 26-year-old achieved the coveted break in the 5th game (3-2) with Sardi having two chances in the 8th game to take back the break, but without succeeding.
A little later, Pagdati had a fourfold chance to finish the match in Sardi's serve, while the Frenchman served at 5-3 to stay in the set, however the inevitable for the Parisian came a few moments later when the Cypriot in his 5th match point gave the free kick to his opponent.
In this tournament, Pagdati has written one of the most golden pages of his career when he defeated Roger Federer by a reversal (5-7, 7-5, 7-6), in a shocking match for the 3rd round of the tournament in 2010 and has in front of him a golden opportunity to make an even better course in this year's tournament.
In the "64" Marcos will face the No. 15 of the board Feliciano Lopez against whom he counts two wins and one defeat.
Source: tennis24.gr