Juan Monaco beats Radek Stepanek in the second round – Internazionali BNL d’Italia 2012
Ranked 15th in the world, Juan Monaco made short world of 25th ranked, Radek Stepanek of Czech Republic, as he defeated him in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 in the second round at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome Italy on Wednesday.
The Argentinean, Monaco, required just an hour and 37 minutes to claim an easy win.
Monaco and Stepanek swapped a break of serve in the first eight games of the opening set, levelling the score at 4-4. The Czech was unable to capitalise on a couple of game points in the ninth and lost it to trail 4-5. Monaco did
not let away the golden opportunity and closed it at 6-4.
The Argentinean maintained a solid first serve percentage of 81, pocketing 16 of the 25 points on them in the opener. In comparison, Stepanek hit 70 percent of the first deliveries and managed to claim just 13 of the 23 points
on them. The Czech failed to save two of the four break points he faced and could not convert two of the three he received.
Monaco grabbed breakthrough in the very first game of the second set and held his following serve to secure a 2-0 lead. The Argentinean kept on dominating the proceedings, as he struck in the fifth and consolidated on it to go
up 5-1. Stepanek managed to snatch one more game but nothing else, dropping the second set 2-6.
Monaco did not perform well on the second serves, as he committed a couple of double faults and lost five of the nine points on them. Though, he compensated that by giving a good show on the first ones, banging in one ace and capturing
16 of the 22 points. The right-hander also impressed with his powerful second returns, as he converted 10 of the 17 of them into points. The Buenos Aires, Argentina resident put away the only break threat he came across and utilised two of the seven opportunities
he created of his own.
The Argentinean is drawn to take on defending champion, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, in the round of 16.
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