Feliciano Lopez defeats Janko Tipsarevic in the first round of the Monte-Carlo Masters
World number 43 Feliciano Lopez of Spain stood victorious against the 37thranked Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia in the opening round of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters at Monte-Carlo, Monaco on Tuesday noon. The three-set
thriller carried on for two hours and twenty five minutes before the Spaniard finished it off at 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) to book a second round berth at the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) 1000 Masters tournament.
29-year-old Spanish veteran avenged the defeat he suffered at the hands of Tipsarevic in 2009 Roland Garros and extended his all time head-to-head lead against the Serb to 4-1. It was the seventh victory for Lopez in the running
ATP season and a much needed one as well.
Lopez had a sloppy start to the contest, dropping the opening set but recovered with great mastery to stay alive in the game by clinching the next set. The match had an enthralling finish in the third set tie breaker with the Spanish
just managing to edge past his opponent to be the winner.
The most eminent feature of the contest was the 18 aces fired from Lopez’s racquet. The Serb followed him with seven but conceded four double faults in doing so. The Spaniard amazingly secured 49 out of 60 first serve points in
the game and broke the opponent’s serve twice. Tipsarevic also cracked in two break points in the matchup but his brilliant efforts went in vain as Lopez bagged the third set tie breaker to seal the contest.
Tipsarevic had a brilliant start to the opener and cruised his way to 6-4 after stinging one serve break to his competitor. Lopez turned the table on the Serb in the next set, winning 92 per cent of his first serve points and sealing
off the second set at 6-3. The nail biting third set witnessed 10 fiery aces from Lopez’s racquet and brilliant tennis skills from the Serb. The two contestants finally had to play the decisive tie breaker round. Lopez passed the test of nerves in the decider
and concluded victory at 7-6(5).
The Spaniard will now take on his fellow compatriot and the fourth seed David Ferrer, who received a bye to have a direct access to the second round.
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