MONACO TAKES ON PAIRE

Gabriela Sabatini’s countryman, Juan Monaco, will take on Benoit Paire of France in the third round of the ongoing German Open. The player who wins this contest will make his way into the quarter final round of the event.

Monaco has looked in supreme touch in this tournament. In the second round, he had got better of another Frenchman Gael Monfils with utmost ease.

Monaco is a fine clay court player. He has tested some great players on slower surfaces. He covers areas quite quickly and also has a very good serve.

Monaco was rated very highly by the pundits when he had first burst onto the scene, but, he hasn’t managed to live up to his potential so far in his career. Inconsistency is a big worry for him. One day, he looks unbeatable, the next day, he looks ordinary. He will have to work on his consistency for sure if he has to move up in the world rankings.

The 29 years old Argentinean is currently at no. 20 in the official WTA rankings. He would like to improve his ranking and break into the top 15 by going all the way in this tournament.

Monaco has so far played 30 matches this season out of which he has won 16 and lost 14. These numbers suggest how inconsistent he has been.

Monaco’s opponent Paire is also considered as a superstar in the making. He is another player who has got a lot of talent, but, he has also struggled to do justice to his talent.

Paire is very strong on his serve and his forehand shots are quite effective too. He has so far played 44 matches this season out of which he has managed to win 24.

Monaco and Paire has so far locked horns with each other only once i.e. in the Roma Masters earlier this season. It was Paire who had won that match.

Gabriela Sabatini

Sabatini Online video Rating: four / five

MONACO MISSES OUT

Gabriela Sabatini’s countryman, Juan Monaco, has been defeated by Kevin Anderson of South Africa in the second round of Madrid Open. Anderson won the match in three sets by 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4.

Before this match, these two players had faced each other only once. That match was played last year in Houston and Monaco was the winner. Read more »

DEL POTRO LOSES

Gabriela Sabatini’s countryman, Juan Martin Del Potro has been defeated by Jarkko Nieminen of Finland in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters. Nieminen won the match in three sets by 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4).

This was another upset by the Finnish veteran. He had pulled off an upset in the second round too by defeating Milos Raonic of Canada.

Nieminen took 2 hours and 37 minutes to defeat Del Potro. He smashed a total of 51 winners in the match.

Before this match, Del Potro had faced Nieminen 4 times and the Argentinean had won all those matches in straight sets.

Nieminen got a great start in the opening set. He broke Del Potro’s serve in the second game and then, served out the next game to go up by 3-0.

The next 5 games went with the serve and the score was 5-3 in Nieminen’s favour when the 8^th game got over.

Nieminen dropped his serve in the 9^th game which brought down the lead to 5-4.  In the next game, Del Potro required a serve hold to level the scores, but, he couldn’t do that. Nieminen broke his serve for the second time in the set and sealed the set by 6-4.

Nieminen didn’t get a good start in the following set. His serve was broken in the 3^rd game and Del Potro got ahead by 2-1. The Argentinean player didn’t lose that lead thereafter. He won his next 4 service games and grabbed the set by 6-4.

In the decider, Del Potro began with a breakthrough in the very first game. He held his serve in the next game and increased his lead to 2-0. But, that lead remained for a very short period. Nieminen broke back in the 4^th game to make the scores 2-2.

Both the players got a couple of breakthroughs each in the next 8 games which ensured that the tie breaker would decide the outcome of the match.

Nieminen was again very calm in the tie breaker. He didn’t show any sign of nervousness and won the tie breaker comfortably to pull off the second consecutive upset.

In the quarter final, Nieminen will play against the no. 1 player in the world Novak Djokovic.

DEL POTRO BEATEN

Gabriela Sabatini’s compatriot, Juan Martin Del Potro, has been defeated by Tobias Kamke of Germany in the second round of the Sony Open on Saturday. Kamke won the match in the straight sets by 7-6(5), 6-1.

This was a huge upset. Del Potro had come into this tournament with some form. In the recently played BNP Paribas Open, he had defeated the no. 1 player in the world Novak Djokovic in the semi finals. Also, his world ranking is much higher than Kamke. So, not many people would have expected him to suffer a straight set defeat against a relatively lesser experienced German player. But, it happened. Kamke stunned Del Potro with his ruthless approach.

In the first five games of the opening set, there were no breakthroughs. Del Potro broke in the 6^th game and then, held his serve in the 7^th game to make the score 5-2 in his favour.

By serving out the eighth game, Kamke decreased the lead to 3-5. Del Potro was serving for the set in the 9^th game, but, Kamke didn’t let him serve it out. With a break of serve, he ensured that the set would go further. A serve hold for Kamke in the 10^th game levelled the scores.

Both the players held their serve in the next two games which extended the set into the tie breaker. Kamke continued playing with aggression in the tie breaker as well and won it to grab the set.

In the second set, Del Potro performed poorly on his serve and dropped his serve a couple of times consecutively. As a result of that, Kamke took a lead of 5-0. The Argentinean won his third service game in the set to make it 5-1, but, that was too little to change the course of the match. Kamke served out the 7^th game and secured a huge win.

Kamke’s next opponent will be Jurgen Melzer of Austria.

DEL POTRO BEATS DJOKOVIC

Gabriela Sabatini’s countryman, Juan Martin Del Potro, has beaten Novak Djokovic in the semi finals of the BNP Paribas open and has made his way into the title round. Del Potro won the match by 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

This was Djokovic’s first defeat in the ongoing season. He had won 22 matches on the trot before this match.

It was not a one sided encounter. Both the players had their chances, but, towards the end, it was Del Potro who played calmly and managed to get better of the no. 1 player in the world. Read more »