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  • Massu fails to defend gold, Wawrinka upset in round two action

    8/12/08 5:59 PM | Cheryl Murray
    - Stanislas Wawrinka went out to prove that Switzerland has more than one player to count on and David Nalbandian continued his quest for his first Olympic medal.

    David Nalbandian def. Nicolas Massu 7-6(0), 6-1

    Argentine David Nalbandian ended any hope Nicolas Massu of Chile had of repeating his gold medal performance from Athens in 2004. The first set was a real battle. The two men took turns breaking each other’s serve. Nalbandian had the opportunity to serve out the first set at 5-4, but Massu was not ready to give up on the set. Nalbandian was broken and was forced to play a tiebreak. The Argentine kept his head and took the tiebreak at love. The second set was a steamroll by Nalbandian as Massu appeared to visibly wilt.

    Gael Monfils def. Victor Hanescu 6-4, 7-6(5)

    The win over Victor Hanescu is a good one for Gael Monfils. Hanescu serves big and hits his groundstrokes hard. Monfils is best known for his ability to defend, and along with Rafael Nadal is probably the quickest player on tour. The surface in Beijing is a bigger benefit to the hard hitters than the defenders. Though the match was a close one, Monfils managed to hang with Hanescu long enough to close out the match in two tight sets. Monfils will meet David Nalbandian next.

    Jurgen Melzer def. Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 6-0
    Austria’s Jurgen Melzer scored one of the big upsets of the game so far, knocking off the number ten seed Stanislas Wawrinka. Wawrinka was not himself for most of the match and he appeared to be having difficulty with the conditions. The flat-footed Swiss competed well enough in the first set, but the second set was all Melzer. Wawrinka failed to win a single game as Melzer took advantage of the out-of-sorts Swiss. Wawrinka remains a part of the doubles tournament with countryman Roger Federer.

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