Mirnyi/ Nestor thrash Gasquet/ Tsonga in the second round of Mutua Madrid Open
Belarusian/Canadian pair of Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor cruised past Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 in the second round of Mutua Madrid Open at the La Caja Mágica in Madrid on Thursday.
It took the Belarusian/Canadian pair only an hour to knock out their opponents in a one-sided match.
Mirnyi and Nestor broke their opponents in the third game of the opening set and held their serve in the next game to take a 3-1 lead. The Belarusian/Canadian pair broke again in the seventh game and served out the set at 5-2.
The second seeded team fired a couple of aces and 77 percent of the first serves, converting 76 percent of them into points in the opening set. The Belarusian/Canadian pair converted 38 percent of the first returns into points
in the opening set. In comparison, Gasquet and Tsonga kept their first serve percentage at 70 percent and clinched 63 percent of the points on their first serve in the first set. The French duo could not save both break points they faced in the opening set.
Mirnyi and Nestor succeeded in saving the only break point they faced in the first set.
The Belarusian/Canadian pair maintained the pressure on their opponents form the start of the second set as they broke Gasquet and Tsonga in the very first game to go ahead 1-0. However, the French team broke back immediately in
the second game, levelling the score at 1-1. But Gasquet and Tsonga’s success did not last long as Mirnyi and Nestor broke again in the seventh and ninth game to seal the second set 6-3.
The third ranked pair had a decent first serve percentage as they delivered 64 percent of the first serves and grabbed 79 percent of the points on them in the second set. On the other hand, Gasquet and Tsonga had a better first
serve percentage as they hit 79 percent of the first serves but their conversion rate was lower, converting just 48 percent of the first serves into points. Mirnyi and Nestor returned quite well as they clinched 52 percent of the points on the first service
returns. The Belarusian/Canadian pair converted three of the four break point opportunities they created but failed to save the only break point they faced in the second set.
Mirnyi and Nestor are drawn to face French/Serbian duo of Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic, seeded sixth at the event, in the quarterfinals. Llodra and Zimonjic beat Brazilian team of Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares in straight
sets 6-4, 6-4 in the second round.
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