ROTTERDAM TENNIS UPDATE – GAEL MONFILS WINS & SASHA ZVEREV TO FACE GILLES SIMON ON THURSDAY AT THE ABN / AMRO

Written by: on 10th February 2016
Tennis Australian Open 2016
ROTTERDAM TENNIS UPDATE - GAEL MONFILS WINS & SASHA ZVEREV TO FACE GILLES SIMON ON THURSDAY AT THE ABN / AMRO

epa05128780 Gael Monfils of France plays a shot against Milos Raonic of Canada during their quarter final match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 27 January 2016. EPA/DAVID CROSLING AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT  |

Monfils wins in Rotterdam, Zverev to face Simon on Thursday

 

By Ricky Dimon

 

Gael Monfils punched his ticket to the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament quarterfinals by battling past Borna Coric 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 during second-round action on Wednesday night. Monfils led by a set and a break before his serve collapsed. That helped bring Coric back in the match, but the Frenchman recovered to get the job done in one hour and 56 minutes.

 

“He is a good fighter,” Monfils said of his 19-year-old opponent. “I got a little bit tight at the end of the second set. But fortunately I came back strong in the third set. I served a bit faster and used my forehand well again. It was a very physical match. He was running a lot and very fast. We had some great rallies. He is very talented.”

 

The fifth awaits either Gilles Simon or Alexander Zverev on Friday.

 

Zverev, a semifinalist last week in Montpellier, got back in the winners’ circle with a 7-5, 6-2 defeat of Vasek Pospisil. The 18-year-old German held all 10 of his service games despite putting in only 53 percent of his first serves while recording zero aces and three double-faults.

 

France’s Gilles Simon in action against Robin Haase of the Netherlands during their first round match of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands, 10 February 2016. EPA/KOEN SUYK

A tough test is ahead of Zverev on Thursday and it will come in the form of Gilles Simon. The 15th-ranked Frenchman lost his opening match in Montpellier to Dustin Brown, but he made sure not to make the same mistake again. Simon survived a slow start and fought off a set point in the opening frame of play to beat Robin Haase 7-6(5), 6-1 on Wednesday.

 

Like Simon and Zverev, Viktor Troicki and Hyeon Chung will also be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Thursday. Few players–and not even Zverev–aside from the very best in the world are in better form than Troicki at the start of this 2016 season. The 22nd-ranked Serb is 11-3 on the year with a title in Sydney and runner-up showing last week in Sofia (lost to a red-hot Roberto Bautista Agut). Troicki made a quick turnaround to overcome Andrey Kuznetsov 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3 in his Rotterdam opener on Wednesday.

 

Chung has peaked as high as No. 51 in the world and he currently registers at 69th. The 19-year-old is on the way back up thanks to a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez on Tuesday. Inconsistency, though, will almost always be a problem for any teenager on the pro tour. Chung, for example, suffered a bad 6-2, 6-3 loss to Marius Copil in the Sofia opening round.

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

 

10sBalls Editors Note – We highly recommend Following this Great event. Richard Krajicek is one of the best tournament directors in the world.

This is a First Class Event! Richard is tuned into every detail to make certain that it’s well organized and Fun for all.

His gorgeous wife Daphne Deckers, his beautiful daughter Emma Deckers, and His handsome Son Alec Deckers are all part of the hospitality team.

 

 

RESULTS – WEDNESDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2016

 

Singles – Second Round

[2] M. Cilic (CRO) d G. Muller (LUX) 76(2) 76(7)

[5] G. Monfils (FRA) d B. Coric (CRO) 63 57 62

P. Kohlschreiber (GER) d [Q] I. Dodig (CRO) 64 62

 

Singles – First Round

[3] G. Simon (FRA) d [WC] R. Haase (NED) 76(5) 61

[6] R. Bautista Agut (ESP) d J. Sousa (POR) 76(4) 16 63

[8] V. Troicki (SRB) d [Q] A. Kuznetsov (RUS) 46 76(2) 63

J. Chardy (FRA) d [LL] E. Donskoy (RUS) 67(9) 64 76(8) saved 1 m.p.

[WC] A. Zverev (GER) d V. Pospisil (CAN) 75 62

 

Doubles – First Round

[2] I. Dodig (CRO) / M. Melo (BRA) d [WC] J. Huta Galung (NED) / B. Van Den Berg (NED) 62 75

 

SCHEDULE – THURSDAY, 11 FEBRUARY 2016

 

CENTRE COURT start 11:00 am

J. Chardy (FRA) vs [Q] N. Mahut (FRA)

H. Chung (KOR) vs [8] V. Troicki (SRB)

J. Vesely (CZE) vs [6] R. Bautista Agut (ESP)

H. Kontinen (FIN) / J. Peers (AUS) vs [2] I. Dodig (CRO) / M. Melo (BRA)

 

Not Before 7:30 pm

M. Baghdatis (CYP) vs M. Klizan (SVK)

[WC] A. Zverev (GER) vs [3] G. Simon (FRA)

 

COURT 1 start 2:00 pm

After Suitable Rest – N. Mahut (FRA) / V. Pospisil (CAN) vs [4] R. Bopanna (IND) / F. Mergea (ROU)

Topics: , , , , , , , , , ,








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.