Gael Monfils battles past Santiago Giraldo into quarterfinal – PTT Thailand Open 2011
World number nine, Gael Monfils of France, had to labour a bit in the contest before he finally took down the 52nd ranked Colombian, Satiago Giraldo, in the second round of the PTT Thailand Open, in Bangkok, Thailand, on Thursday afternoon.
The contest was played on the indoor hard courts of the Impact Arena, with the second seeded Frenchman wrapping up the three-setter at 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, to move into the quarterfinal of the APT (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 tournament.
Being the second seed in the event, Monfils received a bye to have a direct access to the second round and registered his 31st victory of the running season to get into the final eight of the competition. Giraldo fought valiantly and hung in the competition for almost two hours before he eventually succumbed in the final set.
Monfils, who was the semi-finalist in the 2008 edition of the Thailand Open, had a brilliant start in the competition to pocket the opener early but lost his way through the middle parts of the competition, dropping the second set to his opponent. The second seeded Frenchman made his way back in the competition in an authoritative manner and absolutely blew away the Colombian in the final set to seize victory.
“I expected a tough match,” admitted Monfils after winning the contest. “Even after I lost the second set, I felt I was moving better and hitting my ground strokes well, so I was positive that I could do well in the third set.”
Mofils’ 60 per cent serve included 11 cracking aces and five double faults. He bagged 39 out of 52 first serve points in the matchup and converted four of his nine break opportunities en route to victory. Giraldo registered just one break point, which came in the second set, but it wasn’t enough to contain the belligerence of the Frenchman. Monfils nailed three serve breaks in the third set alone to conclude victory and earned a pass to the quarter-final daw.
Monfils will take on the unseeded competitor from Finland, Jarkko Nieminen, in the quarterfinal to fight for a place in the semis of the PTT Thailand Open. Nieminen stunned everyone, when he outplayed the seventh seeded Dutch competitor, Robin Haase, in straight sets 7-6(5), 7-5(4), in the second round to book a date with Monfils in the round of eight.
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