Juan Monaco edges past Mardy Fish to get Argentina ahead in the Power Horse World Team Cup
Argentine domination continued in the round robin of the Power Horse World Team Cup as 38th ranked Juan Monaco registered a surprise victory over world number 10, Mardy Fish of the United States on Thursday. The Argentine
took down Fish in straight sets 7-6(4), 7-5, after toiling for two hours and fifteen minutes to draw first blood for his side.
Team Argentina is still unbeaten at the World Team Cup, beating Kazakhstan and Sweden in the opening two ties this week. The strong American squad also failed to withstand the fury of Argentina, as Fish lost the first singles rubber
of the competition against Monaco. Things exacerbated for America as John Isner also lost his singles matchup to Juan Ignacio Chela to rule his side out of the contest by suffering 0-2 defeat in the tie.
It was an enthralling contest, with the two contestants throwing up everything they had at each other. Fish hung in the contest till the last minutes but Monaco proved too good for him, beating him in straight sets to get his side
one up. The Argentine took the opener in a tie breaker round and then carried on his momentum to conclude victory in the second set.
The American had plenty of chances in the contest but he squandered the most of them carelessly to remain on the losing end. Fish had 13 break opportunities but the converted just three, while Monaco cashed in four out of nine
chances to register break points in the game. His below par serve of 54 per cent couldn’t create much trouble for the Argentine, who kept winning crucial points on regularity.
The opener took off with an exchange of serve breaks from both men, followed by a routine game, with the contestants striving hard to come on top. The set went neck-to-neck and a tie breaker was finally imposed when the scores
reached 6-6. Fish lost his steam in the tie breaker and could bag just four points before eventually submitting the opening set to the Argentine opponent at 6-7(4).
Intense tennis continued in the next set as well, with a series of serve breaks from both players. Fish tried to break the shackles with two break points but the determined Argentine replied with three serve breaks to edge past
him to victory. Monaco sealed the second set at 7-5 to come out as the winner and give a 1-0 lead to his side, which was further consolidated by Chela’s victory to get Argentina home.
The unbeaten Argentine squad now clears the round robin stage in the most assertive manner and confirms a berth in the final of the World Team Cup.
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