Maximo Gonzalez defeats Victor Hanescu in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters
World number ninety three Maximo Gonzalez reached the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters Tournament on Tuesday with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory over Romanian Victor Hanescu. A qualifier into the tournament, Gonzalez outlasted Hanescu in a match marked by grinding smashes and breaks of serves.
Gonzalez is making his first appearance here and he is playing quite well so far. Hanescu on the other was more experienced than Gonzalez, reaching the second round two times in his four prior appearances at the event.
The Romanian served with 64 percent accuracy in the whole match, leaving something to be desired by his fans. However, he compensated for it by collecting 40 of 70 first serve points and hitting six aces in the match. He scored five percent less than the Argentine in total and lost the last two sets 5-7, 1-6.
Both players didn’t perform very extra-ordinarily in terms of serving in the first set. Hanescu had 56 percent on first serves without any double fault, while his Argentine opponent had a 46 percent first serve. The 29-year-old Romanian converted eight of nine break points and took the first set with a 6-3 score line.
After Hanescu dominated the first set, the remaining two sets proved to be nail biters for Gonzalez’s fans. Gonzalez put the pressure back onto his opponent as he lifted his first serves accuracy to 74 percent and won 57 percent points on first serves and 40 percent points on second serves. In addition to this he converted 100 percent breakpoints in return and stole the second set with a 7-5 score.
In the final set, the Argentine played more aggressively and proved his mental strength once again. Hanescu crumbled under pressure and lost the final set with a breadstick, allowing an entry pass to the Argentine for the second round of the Monte Carlo tournament.
Argentine’s next opponent will be Spain's Nicolas Almagro, who defeated compatriot Marcel Granollers 6-3, 6-3 to get it into the second round of the tournament. Having never played against each other at any ATP world tour or Grand slam, this will be the first meeting between them. As both of the players are in top form, it’s difficult to predict that who will take the lead.
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