Gilles Simon ousts Benjamin Balleret to reach round two – Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters 2012
Ninth seed, Gilles Simon, eased past the local wild card entrant, Benjamin Balleret, in straight sets at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters 2012 on Sunday. He penned down a 6-3, 6-2 victory against the world number 332 at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals)
World Tour Masters 1000 event taking place in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, a commune that borders on Monaco.
The Swiss resident, Simon, proved his class at this clay court event and broke his opponent’s serve four times to pocket the match. Encountering each other for the first time, the French not only advanced into the second round but also edged in the FedEx
ATP Head 2 Head series by 1-0 against Balleret.
"He has a solid game and he has a very good first serve, so I knew I would have to be careful," said the French tennis star in a courtside interview after the match. "Maybe I tried to do too much in the beginning. After that, I was playing better. It was
cold and it took me some time before I could find my rhythm."
Ranked 15th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Simon made a sluggish start and after suffering the first blow in the opening game, he fell at 0-2. However, he made a fitting reply and after trailing at 1-3, Simon unleashed his
skills to reel off the following five games in a row and pocketed the opener with a 6-3 win.
The French veteran continued reeling off the games until he took a 4-0 lead in the second set. He then held his remaining serves and clinched the set with a 6-2 score line. Simon kept his entire serves without encountering any breakpoint and capitalised
on two out of seven break opportunities to earn the limelight.
All in all, Simon clobbered a poor first serve share of 42 per cent as compared to the local contestant’s 59 per cent but amazingly availed 14 out of 22 points on it. He spilled more double fualts but cashed in four out of 10 break chances to prevail.
Up next for the seed is the winner of the match between Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny and the Portuguese qualifier, Frederico Gil.
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