2010 BNP Paribas Masters: Monday Morning Singles Session Review
The last Masters event of the ATP tour, the 2010 BNP Paribas Masters, entered its third day here in Paris. Four first round matches were scheduled for the morning session with the qualifiers coming out with excellent results.
Belgian Xavier Malisse met Finnish Jarkko Nieminen to kick off the day’s play in the centre court. Nieminen, top seed in the qualifying round, gained entry into the main draw after a landslide victory over local Marc Gicquel. “X-man”
Malisse had a short-lived stay here in Paris after he was dismissed by Nieminen in an hour and fifteen minutes in their opening round match. Though the X-man put up a fight in the first set, Nieminen ultimately won the first set 6-4. Nieminen maintained his
form into the second set, forcing the Belgian to give in to the “Jark side of the force” and winning the set 6-2. Nieminen took advantage of the four double faults committed by Malisse and adding that to the nineteen points he lost on service, the Finn was
able to seal his victory to move ahead into the event. He goes on to face American marvel, Andy Roddick later in the event.
While Malisse and Nieminen were battling it out in the centre court, German Benjamin Becker faced and defeated Uzbek Denis Istomin in court 1 at the Palais Omnisports. Becker’s recent ATP tour venture was a quarterfinal run at
St. Petersburg. Although he exited the tournament following his quarterfinal defeat against Illya Marchenko, he was credited with the removal of defending champion, Sergiy Stakhovsky from the event. It seems that the spark we witnessed against Stakhovsky has
been fanned into a flame, as the German not only sailed past his opponents in the qualifying round but also managed a straight set win in his first round match. Serving seven aces and losing only nineteen points on service, Becker moved past Istomin in one
hour and eighteen minutes. He enjoyed a twin set score of 6-4, 6-4 over the Uzbek. Becker faces local favourite, Gael Monfils in the second round.
Following Becker was his compatriot Michael Berrer as he played against Italian qualifier Fabio Fognini. In a three-setter clash that followed, Berrer was not as successful as his compatriot was, earlier, as he lost to the Italian.
Fognini moved past Berrer with a score of 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 to play the 2010 Valencia Open champion, Spaniard David Ferrer in the second round.
The first French to take to the court in the day was wild card entrant Arnaud Clement as he played Spaniard Feliciano Lopez. What followed was a two hour and forty minutes match with the French emerging as the eventual victor.
As the first set entered the tiebreaker, the pair went at it head to head trying to get an edge over their opponent; however, neither managed a break until sixteen points. At 8-8, Lopez caught a break winning the first set 7(10)-6(8). Clement broke back in
the second set, again taking it to the tiebreaker and winning it 7(9)-6(7). He maintained his form into the third set and taking advantage of the four double faults committed by Lopez, won it 6-3. Ousting one Spaniard, Clement moves on to face one more in
the second round, as he faces Fernando Verdasco.
These four matches concluded the morning session at Bercy; however, five more are still to be played. In all nine professionals will move into the second round at the day’s end.
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