Cuevas Outlasts Monfils, Fights Into Third Round

Pablo Cuevas produced more tough clay-court tennis on Wednesday to outlast Gael Monfils and achieve his best result at the Mutua Madrid Open. The World No. 27 beat the confident Monfils 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(4) in two hours and 29 minutes to move into the third round. Cuevas, whose previous best in Madrid was a second-round showing, will face Australian Nick Kyrgios, who beat Stan Wawrinka earlier Wednesday.

Service breaks were at a premium during the second-round contest. Cuevas earned two, Monfils, just one. But neither player relented in the third set. In the final tie-break, Cuevas earned a mini-break at 4-3 and later served out the match.

The Uruguayan had never beaten Monfils before Wednesday, falling in all four previous contests. But he’s had plenty of other success, including two clay-court titles this season, the Brasil Open and the Rio Open presented by Claro. In Rio de Janeiro, Cuevas beat Nadal in three sets en route to the title.

The 30 year old lost to Kyrgios during their only previous meeting, earlier this year at the Australian Open. Monfils, who made the final of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, fell to 8-2 on clay this season with the loss. Cuevas improved to 15-3 on the red dirt.