Third seed and 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka will meet No. 16 seed Pablo Cuevas for a place in the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters quarter-finals after the Swiss beat Jiri Vesely on Wednesday 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 in 84 minutes for his 20th match win at the Monte-Carlo Country Club. “Overall it was a good match, my first match on clay,” said Wawrinka. “The feeling was good. Winning in three sets means it was a good victory… I prepared well. Physically I'm fine, so we'll see what I can do… I know my level is good. If I'm able to improve, I might have a chance in this tournament.” Wawrinka opened up a 3-0 lead in the first set and despite losing his...
Maybe Tommy Haas should reconsider this whole retirement thing. The 39-year-old German, in the midst of his 10th comeback, needed only 69 minutes to knock out Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-2, 6-3 on Tuesday at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. Haas, the oldest player in the draw, feasted on second serves, winning almost 80 per cent of his second-serve points and nearly 75 per cent of Paire's. The win was Haas' first in Monte-Carlo since 2004, when he beat Xavier Malisse. The right-hander hadn't played at the Masters 1000 tournament since 2008. “I think when you go out there and compete, you hope for the best, that is to try to play well and try to win,” Haas said. “Any time that...
#NextGenATP players were on show at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Tuesday with Russia’s Karen Khachanov the lone victor through to the second round. The 20-year-old Khachanov beat Nicolas Mahut 6-2, 6-4 in an 85-minute encounter and next challenges No. 13 seed Pablo Carreno Busta in the second round. Afterwards, Mahut was complimentary of what he saw, explaining, “He's still young. He can become very good and improve a lot. He has a very good coach [in Galo Blanco]. He will be very good in the future.” Borna Coric, the winner of his first ATP World Tour title on Sunday at the Grand Prix Hassan II, fought hard but fell to the experienced Frenchman and fellow wild card Jeremy Chardy...
Two-time former champion Novak Djokovic conjured up a great escape at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Tuesday evening, denying Gilles Simon his first victory over the World No. 2 in nine years. In a stunning display of tennis, Simon served for the match at 5-4 in the deciding set, but it was Djokovic who found a way to win 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 over two hours and 32 minutes. “I thought I played a solid tennis for first set and a half,” said Djokovic. “I was 6-3, 2-1 up, playing just enough to keep going. I felt like I had the control of the match. Then the match turned around. I started making some unforced errors. He made less unforced errors....
Adrian Mannarino recorded one of the biggest wins of his career on Tuesday at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters when he beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-3 for a place in the third round. World No. 56 Mannarino, who won two matches in qualifying and beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez on Monday, dictated with his potent backhand and forays to the net to improve to 2-18 lifetime against players in the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings. His only previous win over an elite player came against the then No. 8-ranked Stan Wawrinka in March 2015 at the Miami Open presented by Itau. “It is an important victory for me, beating Jo in a big tournament,” said Mannarino. “I'm very satisfied with...
