Jurgen Melzer edges out by Julien Benneteau in round two – Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters 2012
Austrian number one, Jurgen Melzer, was underplayed by the French contestant, Julien Benneteau, in straight sets at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters 2012 on Wednesday. He suffered a 4-6, 3-6 loss against the world number 31 in the second round at this ATP (Association
of Tennis Professionals) clay court event taking place in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Seeded 15th in the tournament, Melzer, displayed drastic skills at the Monte Carlo Country Club and subsequently exited from the tournament with disappointment. Benneteau on the other hand not only avenged his loss at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian
Wells last year but also extended his lead in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series by 5-2 against the Austrian.
The 30-year-old Austrian thundered into this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event and drew the first blood in the opening game to jump to a 2-0 lead. However, he lost his concentration after that and not only levelled the scores at 2-2 but gifted away his serve
again in the last game to bear a 4-6 defeat.
Ranked 29th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Melzer found the right path again in the proceeding set and took a 2-1 lead after cashing in the lone break chance in the third game. However, he stepped off steam after that and
lost his edge in the very next game. Despite plucking his serve in the sixth game, he lost the last three games successively and endured a 3-6 shock.
Summing up the seed’s performance at this 68-minute battle, Melzer jolted down a lower first serve share of 74 per cent as opposed to the French’s 84 per cent and hammered fewer aces. The left-handed Austrian cashed in both break chances but dusted away
only six out of 10 breakpoints he encountered.
The Swiss resident, Benneteau, on the other side of net cruised into the third round where the British number one, Andy Murray, is waiting for him. The world number four slaughtered Serbia’s Viktor Troicki with a bagel to set-up this match on Tuesday. He
was never broken down and capitalised on five out of 12 break chances to earn the fame.
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