Gael Monfils stands tall against Bernard Tomic in the second round – If Stockholm Open 2011
World number 10, Gael Monfils of France, had a narrow escape from an upset in the second round of the If Stockholm Open, defeating the 18-year-old Australian wildcard, Bernard Tomic, in three sets on Thursday.
Being played on the indoor hard courts of Stockholm, Sweden, the contest witnessed a stiff competition between the two aggressive players. Top seeded Monfils toiled hard for one hour and fifty one minutes before winding up the
match at 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-4, to make it to the quarter-final round of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 event.
Monfils received a bye to the second round of the draw and had to face some serious resistance from his opponent in his opening contest. The Frenchman clinched the opener to get one up early in the game but a brilliant display
of accurate power hitting from Tomic in the second set levelled the matchup at one-all. Monfils dropped his serve earlier in the final set but recovered in time to get back on course at 4-4. The top seed then nailed another break point and held his serve to
come out of the competition as the winner.
“It was a tough match,” said Monfils after registering victory over the Australian. “Bernard plays good. He’s young, he’s strong, he’s coming in great. He has a tricky game also. It’s not easy to come back on tour after struggling
with injuries, so to find the rhythm was a bit tough, but still I think I played a tough match and it was great for me today.”
Monfils’ 73 per cent precise serve included 18 cracking aces and three doubles faults. He secured 53 out of 74 first serve points and converted three of his 10 break opportunities en route to victory. The Frenchman denied Tomic
eight out of nine times to register a serve break and held his nerve in the intense pressure situations of the contest to remain on top of the game.
Tomic competed very well throughout the contest and kept moving neck-to-neck with the world number 10 but it was Monfils’ experience which earned him victory in the end. A total of 211 points were played in the matchup and Monfils
clinched 110, while Tomic closely followed him with 101 points to finish on the losing side.
Monfils will take on the winner of this year’s South Africa Open, Kevin Anderson, in the quarter-final to make it to the final four at Stockholm. Fifth seeded Anderson made his way to the round of eight after defeating the German
wildcard, Tommy Haas, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4, in the second round of the tournament.
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