Novak Djokovic vs. Juan Monaco: Semi-final preview – Sony Ericsson Open 2012
It has all come down to just four men from a star-studded field of 96 competitors in Miami, Florida. The semi-final round of the Sony Ericsson Open will start from Friday and the world number one, Novak Djokovic, will be taking
on the 21st ranked Argentine tennis ace, Juan Monaco, for a spot in the title match.
The two athletes have already faced each other on four occasions before and their matches are always been one-sided in the Serbian’s favour. The belligerent top seed Serb is looking to consolidate his position as the number one
player in the world and is aiming to bag the coveted ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters Series trophy in Miami this time. On the other hand, Monaco is desperately labouring to break in the Top-20 and a title victory will surely swell his rankings
to much better levels.
The defending champion, Djokovic, took off his campaign at the Sony Ericsson Open in his usual ballistic manner and hasn’t lost a single set en route to the semis. He outmuscled all the seeded players, including Marcos Baghdatis,
Viktor Troicki, Richard Gasquet and the world number five, David Ferrer, in straight sets. He registered a 6-2, 7-6(1) victory over Ferrer to reach the round of four and needs just one more win to earn a title shot in the final.
Monaco also has been flawless with his victories in the initial rounds, nailing straight sets victories over all his opponents to meet the world number one in the semi-finals. He stunned the 14th seed French competitor,
Gael Monfils, in the third round and then produced an absolute shocker in the next round by beating the former world number one, Andy Roddick, 7-5, 6-0. Roddick surprised the Swiss maestro, Roger Federer, in the third round and was immediately showered upon
by lime light. Monaco’s win over Roddick boosted his confidence to all new heights and he went on to dispose of the world number eight, Mardy Fish in the quarter-final to book a date with the world number one.
Monaco has a dismal run against Djokovic and has never beaten him in the four prior encounters. The Serbian first took him down way back in 2005 in the opening round of Wimbledon Championships. The last time these two went one-on-one
at the Paris Masters and was again defeated in straight sets to fall 0-4 in the head-to-head series against the mighty Serb.
No doubt Djokovic is the hot favourite for winning the semi-final round against Monaco and a completely one-sided contest is anticipated. However, Monaco’s voyage in the Sony Ericsson Open has been absolutely phenomenal and his
victories over the superior-ranked competitors cannot be ignored. The Argentine possesses a rock solid baseline defence and his forehand is working perfectly for him in the current tournament.
The top seed Serb is often found to be a shaky starter of the game and this is the only point Monaco can capitalise on. The Argentine needs to take early advantage in the semi-final with a straight away onslaught otherwise the
mighty Serb is going to spare nothing for him at all.
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