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1/19/10 3:20 PM | Vincent Glenn
Marcel Granollers produced a magnificent comeback from two sets down to send No.8 seed Robin Soderling crashing out. There were also wins for Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Marcel Granollers d. Robin Soderling 5-7, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
World No. 113 Marcel Granollers earned the first break of the match to go 3-2 up, but he surrendered the lead immediately following a dismal game. Serving to stay in the set at 5-6, Granollers played another dreadful game to gift Soderling the opening frame of play.
After a scrappy first set display, Soderling raised his level considerably in the second and broke twice to move into a 2-0 lead. He seemed to lose focus in the third set, though, and a break to love at 3-3 was enough for Granollers to take it.
Soderling was a break up in the fourth, but he lost his own serve three times and allowed Granollers to level the match. The world No. 8 managed to fight off three break points in the opening game of the final set, but he double-faulted on the fourth to hand Granollers an early edge. Although the Spaniard took an injury timeout because of a leg problem, he soon extended his lead when he broke Soderling once more.
The Swede’s game fell apart at the seams and he looked exhausted. He hit a whole host of unforced errors, but Granollers rose to the occasion magnificently. The Spaniard produced a number of sensational passing shots that left Soderling flummoxed and secured victory by firing down his eleventh ace.
Novak Djokovic d. Daniel-Gimeno-Traver 7-5, 6-3, 6-2
Novak Djokovic overcame a difficult start to secure a three-set win over Daniel Gimeno-Traver. The world No.3 was given a severe test in the opening set. He made a number of unforced errors and fell a break behind. Djokovic, though, managed to level things in the very next game. Gimeno-Traver was unable to cope with the pressure of serving to stay in the set at 5-6 and Djokovic duly secured the first frame.
The 2008 Australian Open champion was able to tighten things up in the second set. He faced no break points, although Gimeno-Traver did still cause him some trouble with ambitious attacking play. The third set was a stroll in the park for Djokovic. Giimeno-Traver looked demoralized and was broken twice, winning only two games. Djokovic won a decent 76 percent of points behind his first serve and hit four aces.
Djokovic was satisfied with the way he recovered following a tricky beginning. "After that (the first set), I had the match under control even though there were some difficult moments. It was a very exhausting season for me last year so I tried to skip the opening tournaments of 2010. Maybe it was the right thing to do, maybe not. We'll see."
Switzerland’s Marco Chiudinelli is next up for Djokovic.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d. Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga easily saw off Sergiy Stakhovsky to book his place in the second round. The charismatic Frenchman hit six aces in the first set and converted both of his break points. Stakhovsky also had two chances to win Tsonga service games, but he was only able to take one.
Tsonga fell 2-0 behind in the second but he refused to panic. He recovered to claim the set 6-4, adding another seven aces to his tally and smacking 21 winners past the Ukrainian No.1.
Stakhovsky posed little threat in the third set to the Tsonga serve. He was unable to create any break chances and didn’t win a single point when Tsonga made his first delivery. The 2008 finalist broke once and that was enough to wrap a comfortable victory. He will face American Taylor Dent in the next round.
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