Monfils continued his domination against Sugita, having downed the wild card player 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 at this year's Australian Open. Though known in his early days for his athleticism and defensive acumen, Monfils brought out his attacking game against the tenacious Sugita. He played close to the baseline and backed up his serve with penetrating groundstrokes. The 2010 finalist (l. to Nadal) dropped only nine points on serve and did not face a break point.
“Since this year, I’ve been playing a lot more offensively,” Monfils said. “My coach has helped me with that part of the game. I remember playing individual matches very offensively in years past, whether at the US Open or in Davis Cup, but this year was the first when I was able to do it on a consistent basis.”
Despite turning 30 last month, Monfils is playing some of the best tennis of his career and feels that he has much more left to give.
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“I think we should be more open-minded about age in tennis,” Monfils said. “In long-distance running, athletes are still at peak form at age 38. Same in the NBA, where many great players can play to 36 or 37. At 30, I feel I am at my peak. I still feel very fresh.”
The Frenchman is in the mix to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for the first time and is currently No. 6 in the Emirates ATP Race To London. His second-round opponent will be countryman Gilles Simon, who overcame Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5, 4-6, 6-0. Simon leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 6-1 and is on a four-match win streak.
Ivo Karlovic hit 32 aces in beating Federico Delbonis 7-6(6), 6-7(5), 7-6(5). The Croatian saved two match points serving at 4-5 in the deciding set. Qualifier James Duckworth advanced when Feliciano Lopez retired down 6-7(5), 7-6(4) 4-2 due to illness.
Japanese wild card Taro Daniel fell to Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic. The former World No. 8 prevailed 6-2, 6-4.
Seeded Teams Advance In Doubles
Top seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares overcame Martin Klizan and Joao Sousa 6-4, 6-1, while No. 3 seeds Dominic Inglot and Jean-Julien Rojer beat Benoit Paire and Vasek Pospisil 6-3, 6-3. Japanese wild cards Akira Santillan and Yosuke Watanuki were defeated by Czech veterans Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek 6-2, 6-2.