Richard Gasquet topples Albert Montanes to move to second round – US Open 2012
World number 14, Richard Gasquet of France, bounced back after losing the opener to beat Spain’s world number 111, Albert Montanes, in four sets 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 in the first round of the US Open in New York on Wednesday.
Montanes made the first strike, nailing a breakthrough in the opening game of the encounter and winning his next serve to go up 2-0. Gasquet levelled the score at 3-3 by breaking the Spaniard in the sixth but Montanes hit another
blow in the following one and capitalised on that to triumph 6-4.
In the second set, both players went at par in the first four games and levelled the score at 2-2. It was an all Gasquet show afterwards, as he snatched four in a row to capture it 6-2.
The proceedings in the third set were also pretty straightforward, as none of the two succeeded in breaking the other in the opening seven games to take the score to 4-3 in favour of the Frenchman. Gasquet earned a break at that
moment and made the most of that to win 6-3.
The Frenchman and his rival won their opening serves to equalise the score at 1-1. Gasquet struck in the third and consolidated on it to attain a 3-1 advantage. The subsequent four games went with serve, taking the score to 5-3
in favour of Gasquet. Serving to stay in contention at that moment, Montanes faltered under pressure and lost it 3-6.
Gasquet needed two hours and 37 minutes to claim victory in an equally contested match.
The Frenchman bombarded 22 aces and committed five double faults, maintaining a first serve percentage of 59 and converting 53 of the 61 of them into points. The 26-year-old rushed to the net on a number of occasions and that tactic
paid off, as he won 19 of the 28 points with the help of volleys. His ground stokes were also good, as he banged in 58 winners and made 30 unforced errors in the match.
In the second round, Gasquet is pitted against USA’s Bradley Klahn, who downed Jurgen Melzer in the opener.
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