David Nalbandian upsets Juan Monaco to reach last eight – Copa Claro 2012
Former World Number 3, David Nalbandian of Argentina, routed fifth seed Juan Monaco in straight sets at the Copa Claro in Buenos Aires on Thursday. Nalbandian dropped just four games in the entire match, beating his compatriot 6-3, 6-1 in a one-sided affair. The match lasted just an hour and 29 minutes.
Monaco made a good start, as both players won their serves in the first six games to equalise the score 3-3. However, it was all Nalbandian’s show after that, with the Argentinean winning three games in a row. Nalbandian broke Monaco in the seventh and ninth game to capture the set 6-3.
The Argentinean hit an ace and the same number of double faults in the opener. The 30-year-old fired 61 percent of the first serves and grabbed 15 of the 23 points on them. In comparison, Monaco served better as he did not commit any double fault and smacked three aces. However, the 27-year-old failed to save two of the four break points he faced in the first set.
With the winning momentum on his side, Nalbandian made a great start in the second set. The Argentinean claimed a breakthrough in the second game and capitalised on it to build a 3-0 lead. Monaco opened his account as he held his serve in the fourth game to reduce the trail to 1-3. However, the right-hander failed to win even a single game after that, getting broken again in the sixth game and losing the set 1-6.
Nalbandian gave an average service performance in the second set. The Argentinean put in 50 percent of the first serves, converting nine of the 13 of them into points. Though, he impressed on the first returns, as he clinched ten of the 17 of them. Nalbandian avoided any break threat and capitalised on two of the four chances of his own in the second set.
The Argentinean commented, after the match, "You always expect a tough match against Juan, especially here because of the motivation of playing home, but I think I started playing very well and he didn't that much. He made some mistakes and thanks to that I could take the lead from the beginning."
Nalbandian is drawn to play another countryman Carlos Berlocq in the quarterfinals. World Number 43 Berlocq upset third seed, Gilles Simon of France, in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 in the round of 16.
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