Juan Monaco prevails over Gael Monfils in the third round – Sony Ericsson Open 2012
Seeded 21st at the event, Juan Monaco of Argentina bounced back from a set down to surprise 14th seed, Gael Monfils of France, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the third round at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on Monday.
Monfils made a great start, breaking the Argentinean twice and racing to a 4-0 lead. Monaco pulled one back but could not come back to level terms, losing it 4-6.
The Frenchman gave a mixed serve performance, as he smashed two aces and hit four double faults. The right-hander kept his first delivery percentage merely at 42 but converted 12 of the 13 of them into points. Monfils won just
seven of the eight second serve points in the opener.
Monaco and Monfils held their serve in the first six games of the second set, equalising the score at 3-3. The Argentinean did not lose anything after that, clinching three straight games to capture it 6-3.
The 6ft 1in tall hit one ace and the same number of double fault. He had an amazing conversion rate, getting hold of the entire 14 first and six of the eight second serve points. On the other hand, Monfils improved his first serve
but was unable to do the same with the second one, as he committed three double faults and pocketed just five of the 14 points on them.
Both players broke each other on a number of occasions in the final set. They exchanged a blow in the first two games to level the score at 2-2. Monfils got into a commanding position after grabbing two consecutive games to move
ahead 4-2. However, Monaco surprised everyone by coming out of the jaws of defeat and winning four games in a row to triumph 6-4.
The Argentinean gave an average serve performance but made full use of Monfil’s horrible show. Monaco got hold of 11 of the 15 points on the second returns. The Frenchman was himself to blame for his loss, as he committed four
double faults. Monfils failed to convert two of the four break opportunities he created and could not save three of the four he provided to his opponent in the decider. Monaco needed two hours and 19 minutes to beat the Frenchman.
The Buenos Aires, Argentina resident is pitted against Andy Roddick of USA in the fourth round. Former world number one, Roddick, stunned Roger Federer in the previous match.
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