Stanislas Wawrinka edges past Juan Monaco into second – Shanghai Rolex Masters 2011
World number 19, Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, had to work through his opening round match of the Shanghai Rolex Masters, defeating the 27th ranked Argentine, Juan Monaco, on Sunday afternoon.
Seeded at number 13 in the tournament, the Swiss competitor took two hours and seven minutes of play to get the better of his opponent in the three-setter, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. The contest was played on the outdoor hard courts of the
Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai, People's Republic of China, with Wawrinka earning a berth in the second round of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Master Series event.
The exciting contest witnessed a number of major momentum swings before the ultimate winner was decided in the final set. Monaco was off to a flyer in the competition and raced through the opener to get one up early in the matchup.
The 13 seed made his way back in the contest in the following set, turning the tables on the Argentine opponent to get his eye in the game. Wawrinka reeled off the last two sets of the match with commanding ease to drive Monaco out of the Shanghai Masters
in the very first round.
Wawrinka delivered just 55 per cent of his serve on target but reeled off 32 out of 49 first serve points to edge past his opponent in three sets. Monaco’s below par serve precision of merely 45 per cent earned him 22 out of 34
points and he saved five out of 11 break points he faced from Wawrinka in the matchup.
Action started from the very first game of the match, with Monaco breaking the Swiss serve right up. Wawrinka broke his opponent in the following game, only to be broken in the very next to trail 1-3 early in the matchup. Monaco
kept his lead throughout the opener and nailed another crushing break point conversion in the ninth game to close out the first set at 6-3.
Dropping the opening set early in the matchup, Wawrinka changed his strategy to a more aggressive mode, breaking the Argentine serve in three straight games to race to 6-3 in the second set. The Swiss number two carried on his
winning impetus in the following set as well and stung two more serve breaks to rocket away to 5-0 lead. Wawrinka concluded the matchup at 6-3, getting to the second round of the Shanghai Masters comprehensively.
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