Match report

Gael Monfils © Tennistalk.com
ATP Masters Series Madrid
1st round
10/14/08 1 2 Tot
fr  Gael Monfils 6 6 2
it  Fabio Fognini 2 4 0
Fabio Fognini © Tennistalk.com

  • Monfils' winning ways continue in Madrid

    10/14/08 3:53 PM | Ricky Dimon
    In-form Gael Monfils makes quick quick work of wild card Fabio Fognini on Tuesday afternoon in Madrid. Next up for Monfils is Fernando Gonzalez, who lost to the Frenchman just last week.

    Gael Monfils routed Fabio Fognini 6-2, 6-4 in the opening round of the Masters Series Madrid on Tuesday, spoiling Fognini's wild-card berth into the tournament. The Italian, whose wild-card came as part of a deal dating back to the Masters Series Rome, never got going and it's impossible to do anything against Monfils if your game is not right on target.

    Monfils sent a message from the very beginning that he was not going to beat himself--he never does--and that Fognini would have to come up with something special to pull off the upset. But Fognini, not exactly an indoor hard-court specialist, offered nothing. He won just seven return points in the first set, never saw a break point, and lost his own serve twice.

    Fognini fought hard in the second set, however, and started to minimize his unforced errors from the baseline. Although he finally broke Monfils for the first time, it was the underdog's serve that cost him in the end. Fognini put in a dismal 44 percent of his first serves, failed to fire a single ace, and double-faulted five times throughout the second frame of play. Two breaks were enough for Monfils to charge into the second round after a mere one hour and six minutes.

    Fernando Gonzalez awaits Monfils on Wednesday. The two players met for the first time just last week in Vienna, where Monfils scored a 6-3, 7-6(2) quarterfinal victory.

Tell a friend »

Other articles related to the tournament

Click here fore more articles

Comments


Write comment

You have to be logged in to comment. If you do not have an account, click here to register. It only takes a minute and you'll be redirected back to this page.
Username:

Password: