Richard defeated Santiago Giraldo 5-7 6-3 7-6 (3) in the first round of Lyon and will play Belgian Steve Darcis in the next round.
Always hard to describe a match only from following the scoreboard. Richard was broken in his opening game, but broke back immediately. At 5 all he lost his serve again and the first set was gone. In the second set, Richard managed to save an early break to win it. No breakpoint for either player in the third set which seems to have been dominated by strong serving from both players.
Richard took the breaker 7-3 in what looks like a close match. Looking at the stats, however, he scored 15 points more than his opponent. Maybe the match was not as close in the end.
