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  • Monaco in fine form going into the semi-finals

    2/2/08 11:26 AM | Cheryl Murray
    - Two easy wins for Monaco and Ventura in the quarterfinals set up interesting meeting between the two in the semifinal.

    Juan Monaco def Juan Pablo Brzezicki 6-2, 6-3

    In his easiest match of the tournament thus far, Juan Monaco blasted past Juan Pablo Brzezicki for a spot in the semifinals. Monaco struggled in his two previous matches, getting taken to three sets in each. He really seemed to find his range against Brzezicki though; he never gave his countryman a chance to get his teeth in the match. In the first set, Brzezicki struggled to hold serve and couldn't make a dent in Monaco's serve.

    The second set was more of the same. Monaco seemed to do little more than put the ball in play and allow Brzezicki to hit errors all over the place. He kept pressure on his opponent's serve throughout the set and had numerous break opportunities, two of which he converted. His next opponent will be Spain's Santiago Ventura. Monaco will be the heavy favorite in that match as well.

    Santiago Ventura def Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-3

    Fabio Fognini, the Italian clay courter, seemed to have trouble finding his serve in the first set. He was already down break points in his first game, though he managed to finally hold. In his very next service game however, Ventura took the break. Ventura held serve comfortably in the first set, not facing a single break point. Fognini would have just one opportunity on Ventura's serve in the second set, but was unable to convert. The match went to Ventura with little resistance from Fognini. The two had met in 2007 at the Montevideo Challengers event. Ventura also won that encounter 6-2, 6-0. He will next face the tournament's number 3 seed, Juan Monaco.

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