Frederico Gil upset Sergiy Stakhovsky in the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
Portuguese qualifier Frederico Gil destroyed world number 38, Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky with a breadstick on Sunday. He registered a 6-1, 6-3 victory over the Ukrainian to cruise to the second round at the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex
Masters in Monaco.
Ranked 82nd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Gil downed the Ukrainian in straight sets at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin on his first tour level meeting. He previously faced Stakhovsky at Istanbul Challenger
in 2008 where he triumphed over the Ukrainian in straight sets.
Gil hasn’t had much progress this season winning only seven out of his last ten matches. He recently reached the quarter-final at Le Gosier Challenger before losing to top seeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen. The 26-year-old displayed
tremendous skills in the opening set and despite having a similar first serve share of 68 percent; he earned an amazing 80 percent win on it. He held his entire serves spectacularly and saved both breakpoints through his superb defensive skills. Gil converted
three out of five breakpoint opportunities to his advantage to win the set with a convincing 6-1 score line.
The Portuguese carried his winning momentum into the second set and held his opening serve. He made an early exchange of breaks and later held his remaining serves through his awesome agility. Gil had a much better first serve
share of 75 percent as compared to Ukrainian’s 67 percent and registered an acceptable 62 percent win on it. He committed zero double faults and converted two out of five breakpoint opportunities to his advantage to clinch the set with a 6-3 score line.
The 25-year-old Ukrainian, who made a quarter-final berth at Sydney and Dubai, committed several unforced errors and three double faults in the match. He wasn’t at his best and displayed a dismal performance. He only saved five
out of ten breakpoints he faced and had a lower first serve share throughout the match.
Gil will next face Florian Mayer who upset 10th seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny in a three set thriller. The Portuguese can triumph over Youzhny if he plays with same momentum and convert more of his breakpoint opportunities
to his advantage.
35th ranked Mayer though committed six double faults and had a lower first serve share but he still managed to clinch the match. He saved five out of eleven breakpoints he faced and converted seven out of thirteen breakpoint
opportunities to his advantage to win with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 score line.
Remaining all big names advanced to the next round including Tsonga, Almagro and Cilic.
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