Improved Monfils Moves Into London Contention
Improved Monfils Moves Into London Contention
Monfils and Cilic also set to meet in the third round
Japan’s Kei Nishikori survived a scare on Monday to advance to the third round of the Rio Olympics. Aussie John Millman was up a break in both sets, but the fourth seed came back to win 7-6(4), 6-4.
Millman, No. 74 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, served for the first set at 5-4 but was broken. He also led 4/0 in the tie-break, but Nishikori roared back to win seven straight points and take the first set. The 27-year-old Millman also led 4-3 in the second set, but lost his next two service games.
Nishikori will next face Slovakia’s Andrej Martin, who received a walkover when German Philipp Kohlschreiber withdrew because of a right foot injury.
Juan Martin del Potro backed up the biggest upset of the Olympics with another strong performance. The Argentine moved into the third round with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 win against Portugal’s Joao Sousa, No. 36 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Del Potro struck 13 aces and lost only two points on his serve (20/22) in the third set. The 27 year old also bullied play with his forehand, hitting 16 forehand winners compared to one from his backhand side.
The 6’6” right-hander, who has struggled with wrist injuries over the past few years, will look to reach the quarter-finals in Rio when he faces Japan’s Taro Daniel, who swept #NextGen player Kyle Edmund of Great Britain, 6-4, 7-5. Del Potro started his Olympics with a 7-6(4), 7-6(2) victory against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller hit 14 aces to prevail over fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 6-3. It’s the latest big win for Muller, who’s reached two of his five career ATP World Tour finals this season.
Muller, who carried the flag for his home Luxembourg in the opening ceremony, will try to continue his best Olympic run when he faces 10th seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round. Muller fell in the second round in London in 2012. Bautista Agut denied Italian Paolo Lorenzi 7-6(2), 6-2 in 89 minutes.
Ninth seed Marin Cilic swept his way into the third round, dispatching Moldova’s Radu Albot 6-3, 6-4. The top Croatian broke Albot four times and will next face Frenchman Gael Monfils, who upset the home crowd by beating Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-2, 6-4 in 73 minutes. Monfils is coming off his first ATP World Tour 500 title at the Citi Open in Washington and a runner-up finish at the Rogers Cup (l. to Djokovic), an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Toronto.
Read More: Monfils Outlasts Karlovic For D.C. Crown
DOUBLES
Rafael Nadal won for the second day in a row in Rio, pairing with Marc Lopez to beat del Potro and Maximo Gonzalez 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. Nadal won his first-round singles match on Monday. The Spaniards will next face Austrians Oliver Marach and Alexander Peya, who outlasted Americans Rajeev Ram and Brian Baker 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-3.
Home favourites Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares swept past Serbians Novak Djokovic and Nenad Zimonjic 6-4, 6-4. The third seeds will face the fifth seeds, Romanians Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau, who beat Mexicans Santiago Gonzalez and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela 6-3, 7-6(9).
Americans Steve Johnson and Jack Sock defeated the Colombian team of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 6-4, 7-6(1). Johnson/Sock will face Bautista Agut and David Ferrer, who beat Lukasz Kubot and Marcin Matkowski of Poland 6-3, 7-6(5).
Olympic Games on the BBC |
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Hosts: Rio de Janeiro Dates: 5-21 August Rio time: BST -4 |
Coverage: Watch on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four, Red Button and up to 24 HD video streams on mobile, desktop, connected TVs and app, plus follow on Radio 5 live and via live text commentary. |
Novak Djokovic suffered another Olympics defeat as he and 40-year-old team-mate Nenad Zimonjic exited the men’s doubles in round two.
The Serbs lost 6-4 6-4 to Brazilians Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares in Rio.
The loss came a day after Djokovic was knocked out of the singles by Argentine Juan Martin del Potro.
World number one Djokovic, 29, suffered a surprise second-round defeat at Wimbledon in July when he lost to American Sam Querry.
The 12-time Grand Slam winner came back to claim his 30th Masters title in Toronto before the Olympics.
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Olympic Games on the BBC |
---|
Hosts: Rio de Janeiro Dates: 5-21 August Rio time: BST -4 |
Coverage: Watch on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four, Red Button and up to 24 HD video streams on mobile, desktop, connected TVs and app, plus follow on Radio 5 live and via live text commentary. |
Johanna Konta reached the third round of the women’s singles at the Olympics, but fellow Britons Heather Watson and Kyle Edmund were eliminated in Rio.
World number 13 Konta beat France’s Caroline Garcia 6-2 6-3.
Watson, ranked 66th, struggled against world number 20 Elina Svitolina with the Ukrainian winning 6-3 1-6 6-3.
The two Britons will team up in the women’s doubles later on Monday when they face third seeds Hao-Ching Chan and Yung-Jan Chan of Chinese Taipei.
“I’m grateful to be here and I get to say I’m an Olympian,” Konta, 25, told BBC Radio 5 live.
“I’m here to compete and I’m really enjoying being part of the whole thing.”
Britain’s Kyle Edmund went out of the men’s singles with a 6-4 7-5 defeat by Japan’s Taro Daniel.
Daniel, ranked 117 in the world, trailed 0-3 in the first set and 2-5 in the second but recovered to progress to a third-round encounter with Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro or Brazilian Joao Sousa.
“I know what I could have done better,” Edmund said. “I just wasn’t able to quite do it on the court and problem-solve during the match. I am disappointed at the minute but it isn’t the end of the world.”
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World No. 8 joins forces with popular Croat
Tomas Berdych revealed on Monday that he will begin to work with Goran Ivanisevic at next week’s Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
“I am delighted to announce a new addition to my team,” Berdych wrote on his official Twitter account. “Two months ago, I started working with Luka Kutanjac and I feel that, since then, my game has [improved] and my form has been going in the right direction. In order to further improve, I have decided to add Goran Ivanisevic to the team already in Cincinnati.
“I feel that Goran, with his playing and coaching experience, as well as his energy, is a perfect addition to the team. [I’m] feeling excited about new challenges.”
Ivanisevic parted company with fellow Croatian Marin Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion, on 21 June after a three-year partnership. Former World No. 2 Ivanisevic, one of the biggest servers of the Open Era, captured the 2001 Wimbledon title as a wild card entry.
Berdych, 30, is currently No. 8 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. He has a 12-17 record in tour-level finals.
Britain’s Kyle Edmund is out of the men’s singles following a straight-set defeat by Japan’s Taro Daniel in Rio.
Daniel, ranked 117, fought back from 0-3 in the first set to claim a 6-4 victory. He also trailed 2-5 in the second, but battled back to win 7-5 and book a place in the third round against Juan Martin del Potro or Joao Sousa.
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