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  • Vina del Mar tournament summary; Fernando Gonzalez winner

    2/4/08 2:52 AM | Cheryl Murray
    - Vina del Mar was supposed to be the start of a promising clay season for the young Argentine Juan Monaco. Instead, Monaco was forced to withdraw from the tournament with a sprained ankle.

    His ankle injury occurred after he had already won his semifinal match over Santiago Ventura. To the disappointment of fans, players and tournament directors alike, the final of the 2008 Movistar Open was determined by a walkover. It was the first time since Basel in 2003 that this happened.

    Tournament champion Fernando Gonzalez struggled in his semifinal match against Pablo Cuevas. Cuevas, in fact, had a pair of match points in the second set which Gonzalez managed to save; it was the very first match that Gonzalez ever won after having match points against him. In lieu of the final, Gonzalez played an exhibition match against Santiago Ventura.

    Besides the injury to Juan Monaco, the story of the tournament was not Fernando Gonzalez, but Pablo Cuevas. Cuevas turned pro in 2004, but it was not until 2007 that he started having good results. He qualified for his first grand slam tournament at the US Open and he had an excellent year in the Challengers. His semifinal result in Vina del Mar is by far his best ATP result. It will be interesting to see if he can maintain this form through the rest of the South American clay court swing.

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