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  • Monte Carlo : Day three summary

    4/22/08 4:42 PM | Cheryl Murray
    - Tuesday supplied some surprises, including a victory for Marat Safin over Xavier Malisse. Jarkko Nieminen also won an ATP match for the fist time in eight tries.

    Marat Safin defeats Xavier Malisse 6-3, 6-2

    Marat Safin had a surprisingly easy victory over Belgian Xavier Malisse on Tuesday. The Russian's back hand is an unpredictable shot at best, and an outright liability more often than not, but today, it was a weapon and he used it to great effect. Malisse helped Safin by donating a boatload of errors in the short hour-long match. This win marks only the third time this year that the Russian has gotten into the second round of a tournament. He will play Valencia winner David Ferrer in round two.

    Jarrko Nieminen def. Marc Gicquel 6-0, 6-4

    Struggling Finn Jarkko Nieminen defeated Frenchman Marc Gicquel in convincing fashion in another surprise for Tuesday. The Finn is ranked 25 in the world, but after making the finals in Adelaide and the quarters at the Australian Open, he had an absolutely dismal year, losing 7 ATP matches in a row. It looks as though he may have found his game again. Unlike his recent form, his play today was clean, with very few errors. Gicquel played a poor match, but he received treatment on his back in the second set. Next up for Nieminen is Juan Carlos Ferrero.

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