Juan Monaco defeats Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets at first round of Barcelona
Argentine’s second highest ranked tennis pro Juan Monaco played an easy match against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, defeating the young player in straight sets to secure a spot in the second round of the 2011 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. Juan Monaco defeated
his young opponent with a fry in the second set to score a 6-4, 6-1 victory. The match lasted just a little under one hour and twenty minutes.
Grigor Dimitrov, who has been touted by many as the next Roger Federer due to his imitation of the player’s style on and off court, began the match extremely well. He managed to take three games briskly, and it seemed as if he would defeat Monaco easily.
However, the Argentine player recovered from his opening freeze and seemed determined to put up a fight in the match. No aces were scored in this set, although Dimitrov committed one double fault. Monaco was broken once, an occurrence he avenged by converting
both of his break points against Dimitrov. He took four points more than Dimitrov in this set, and won a total of 53 per cent to take the lead with a 6-4 score-line in the first half.
Spectators and fans hoped that Dimitrov would be galvanized into action by this loss, and that they would be able to witness the Bulgarian player in full steam. They were disappointed, however, as Dimitrov faltered completely and all but handed Monaco the
match. Both players committed one double fault apiece, but Monaco also scored the only ace in this set. He was also able to defend himself against three break points, after which he successfully broke Grigor Dimitrov at all three opportunities. The Argentine
pro managed to win the match by taking an impressive 64 per cent of the points in the second set to structure a winning score-line of 6-4, 6-1.
It was an easy victory for Juan Monaco, who is seeded sixteenth at the tournament and gained late entry as a wild card. He will be facing Simone Vagnozzi of Italy in the second round of the clay event.
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