Vintage Monfils Advances To Second Round In Montreal; Navone Ousts Berrettini

Vintage Monfils advances to second round in Montreal; Navone ousts Berrettini (Image Source: IANS)

Canadian ATP Masters: Gael Monfils made sure to extend his final visit to Montreal as a tennis pro thanks to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak to reach round two of the Canadian Open, earning his first tour-level win since Monte-Carlo in April.

Making his 15th and final appearance at the Canadian ATP Masters 1000, Monfils became the second-oldest man to win a match at the event. He turns 40 on September 1. Only John McEnroe and Mikhail Youzhny (both 16) have competed at the event more than the fan-favourite Frenchman.

Just the ninth man to record 25 wins at the event in the Open Era (25-13), Monfils has recorded 146 wins overall at the ATP Masters 1000 level — the most victories by any man without a Masters 1000 title.

The Montreal wild card thrilled the crowd throughout the match, including in the final game when he flirted with both sidelines on a crucial drop shot-passing shot combo. Monfils served out the match on his second attempt and leaned on strong serving in both sets, posting an 84 per cent win rate (26/31) on first serve, according to ATP Stats.

“Thank you for this atmosphere, thank you for being here, thank you from the bottom heart, you’re incredible!” Monfils said, while addressing the fans during his on-court interview who stayed until midnight to watch him seal the win.

In the second round, he will face the tournament’s no. 12 seed, American Learner Tien.

“Thank you for this atmosphere, thank you for being here, thank you from the bottom heart, you’re incredible!” Monfils said, while addressing the fans during his on-court interview who stayed until midnight to watch him seal the win.

The Argentine saved 11 of 12 break points against Berrettini, according to ATP Stats, and has now advanced to the second round at four of the past five ATP Masters 100s. His victory against the World No. 41 is his second hard-court win against a Top 50 player in the ATP Rankings.

Article Source: IANS