Nicolas Almagro struggles against Maximo Gonzalez, triumphs in three sets at Monte Carlo
Spanish clay court expert Nicolas Almagro fought through the second round of the 2011 Monte Carlo Masters, facing a tough challenge against Maximo Gonzalez of Argentine. Almagro managed to win the match after battling with Gonzalez for over three hours, to set up a winning score-line of 6-7(6), 7-5, 7-6(10).
Gonzalez is currently ranked World Number 93, and has not won any titles so far. The Argentine was not expected to be a serious threat to Almagro, who has a winning streak on clay with five straight final appearances. In addition to this, the player is on the verge of breaking into the World’s Top 10, currently poised at World Number 12.
Despite his superior prowess on clay, Almagro struggled mightily in his match against Gonzalez. The World Number 93 had the advantage of being the underdog, which meant that Almagro was probably expecting a breezy win over him. This gave Gonzalez the advantage of a surprise, as he won the first set of the match after a gruelling tie-breaker. Despite the fact that Almagro had one point more than his opponent at this stage in the match, Gonzalez prevailed 7-6(6).
The second set began with Almagro serving terribly, diverting from form to commit three double faults. He was also broken twice, but Gonzalez could not take advantage of the opportunity to defeat his opponent in straight sets. Nicolas Almagro went on to break Gonzalez four times, winning two points more than the Argentine to take the set 7-5. The score-line was 6-7(6), 7-5 to Almagro at this time.
The third set of the match proved to be even more intense, as Almagro took the lead at 4 all with 40-0. This could have resulted in an easy win for the pro, but he was careless and threw away multiple opportunities and was broken once as Gonzalez took the lead at 5-4. Almagro fell behind even more, as Gonzalez had the opportunity to win the match twice. However, he good not capitalize on these advantages as Almagro served up a formidable tie-breaker in the third set. The Spaniard, who has already won two 2011 titles, save the fourth match point of the match to win it 12 points to 10. The taxing match ended here, with a score-line of 7-6(6), 6-7(6), 7-5.
Nicolas Almagro will now proceed to the next round of the clay tournament at Monte Carlo. The Spanish pro has won 21 of the 26 matches he has played so far in 2011, and is expected to produce even better results on clay throughout this year. He will be facing Jurgen Melzer in the next round of the Monte Carlo Masters.
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