Del Potro and Tsonga through to pre-quarters of Monte Carlo Masters

The red shale at the scenic Court Central of the Monte-Carlo Country Club is beginning to assume a life of its own. The short lull that characterises the transition of tennis from America to Europe is almost ready to be forgotten as the luminous stars of the ATP World Tour start soiling their shoes with an exclusive romp at the classy principality of Monaco. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga played with typical aggression to swipe past Nikolay Davydenko 7-6(3), 6-2 in an hour and 27 minutes to reach the round of 16 at the Monte Carlo Masters. Juan Martin Del Potro, a second round loser at the Sony Open in Miami, survived a three set battle against Alexandr Dolgopolov 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 to avoid an early exit and record his first main draw victory at the seaside club.

Davydenko started his encounter against Tsonga resembling a sophomore who stumbled into a graduation party. Three unforced errors, a foot fault and a double fault helped Tsonga break at love at the start of their match. Tsonga was threatening to wipe the court with Davydenko, but the Russian saved three break points in the third game to ensure that his French opponent did not run away with the match.

The 31-year-old, whose intense stroke making belies his slender frame, struck a thundering forehand winner for his first break point. What followed was a typically terra battue moment – the clay afforded Davydenko the time to slide and stop with the ball behind him, before somehow sending it back over the net for a well-deserved break. In the most competitive phase of the match, neither player had any real chances while returning as the set slipped into a tie-breaker.

Tsonga took charge early in the breaker before racing away to a 5-1 lead before converting his first opportunity to take the first set. With the home fans cheering wildly, Tsonga turned on the heat early in the second set. Even though Davydenko held his opponent at bay in the fourth game, it was to be the last word for the Russian. Tsonga broke twice in a row to race away to a comfortable victory that should serve as a nice treat for his 28^th birthday on Wednesday. Tsonga served seven aces and converted 3 of 6 break points to clinch a convincing victory.

After a disappointing visit to Miami, Del Potro needed time on the courts to hone his game on his least favourite surface. The MCC obliged by handing the Argentine a wild card. Del Potro seemed ready to waste it after slumping to a miserable first set defeat at the hands of a rampant Ukrainian. Dolgopolov broke serve twice – in the third and fifth games – to take the set in 36 minutes.

‘The tower of Tandil’ set about to repair the damage, breaking early in the second set to take a 2-0 lead. But then the set turned into a break-fest, with Dolgopolov breaking even before taking advantage of the Argentine’s second serve to gain a 4-3 lead. With the match riding on his racket, the aggressive Dolgopolov somehow conjured to lose three games in a row to let the match slip away from his grasp, despite having hammered 41 winners in the first two sets.

The third set swung back and forth too, with Del Potro breaking in the fourth game for a 3-1 lead but surrendering the advantage immediately to the belligerence of his opponent. Dolgopolov set up break point with a backhand down the line winner, before returning the set to even terms with a terse forehand volley. Unfortunately for the Ukrainian, his backhand misbehaved in the sixth game as a couple of errors cost him another break. The fifth seed sealed victory when Dolgopolov failed to control a forehand volley on the Argentine’s first match point.

The French affair between Richard Gasquet and Benoit Paire also lasted 87 minutes even though it stretched to three sets. The seventh seed survived a mid-match slump in concentration to come through 6-1, 3-6, 6-1. Gasquet was in complete control of the situation with a set in the bag and leading 3-1 in the second, but Paire roared back to take five in a row and force the decisive third set. Gasquet recovered his poise to treat the fans to some delectable fare off his aesthetic backhand to race away to victory. Gasquet, though, still seemed to be bothered by his ankle, an injury that kept him out of his country’s quarter-final loss to Argentina in the Davis Cup.

However, Jankovic Tipsarevic suffered an upset defeat at the hands of the talented Bulgarian, Grigor Dimitrov. Philipp Kohlschreiber had a tough time dealing with the Spaniard Pablo Andujar, who played a spirited match despite the exertions of his effort in the qualifying rounds. The German eventually prevailed with a hard fought 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(3) victory to reach the third round.

Incidentally, there were also some first round matches played on the day – Nicolas Almagro came from behind to oust David Goffin 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 while Stanislas Wawrinka and Juan Monaco enjoyed straight set victories. Wawrinka was able deny the hard working Denis Istomin 6-3, 7-5 whilst Monaco proved too good for qualifier Martin Klizan who suffered a painful 4-6, 0-6 defeat.

In easily the best match of the day, Ernests Gulbis showcased the good side of his erratic talents to defeat the Houston champion John Isner 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 after an hour and 48 minutes of intense battle. In fact, the Latvian even had more aces than the big serving American, 11 to 6. Marinko Matosevic rubbed salt into the degenerating wounds of Fernando Verdasco, handing a painful 7-5, 6-3 defeat, while Albert Ramos eliminated Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-3. Qualifier Albert Montanes needed three sets to deny the Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.

Wednesday has a card worth every Euro on the ticket – Tomas Berdych will open the action on the main court against Marcel Granollers, followed by the eight time champion Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard will look to build on his 44-1 record at the club in his match against Matosevic. Novak Djokovic, who is nursing a sore ankle is scheduled to be next on court against Mikhail Youzhny, while the last match on court central will feature Edouard Roger-Vasselin against the world No. 2 Andy Murray.

Results:

R32 (6) J Tsonga defeats N Davydenko 76(3) 62R32 (5) J Del Potro defeats A Dolgopolov 16 64 63R32 (7) R Gasquet defeats B Paire 61 36 61R32 G Dimitrov defeats (8) J Tipsarevic 76(3) 61R32 (16) P Kohlschreiber defeats P Andujar 62 26 76(3)

R64 E Gulbis defeats J Isner 46 62 63R64 M Matosevic defeats F Verdasco 75 63R64 A Montanes defeats G Monfils 62 26 64R64 K Anderson defeats J Janowicz 75 76(9)R64 F Mayer defeats B Balleret 57 61 62R64 (10) N Almagro defeats D Goffin 26 61 63R64 (13) S Wawrinka defeats D Istomin 63 75R64 M Granollers defeats V Hanescu 67(8) 63 61R64 (14) J Monaco defeats M Klizan 64 60R64 J Melzer defeats J Huta Galung 16 63 62R64 A Ramos defeats R Stepanek 63 63