Monfils Falls In Lyon Debut

Gael Monfils arrived in Lyon attempting to get back on track following consecutive 3-6, 1-6 losses in Madrid and Rome. 

But the No. 6 seed let slip a 6-2, 4-3 lead in his debut on Monday at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon. German Maximilian Marterer eliminated the Frenchman 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting after one hour, 50 minutes. It is the second year in a row that Monfils has lost three consecutive matches ahead of Roland Garros. In 2017, the former World No. 6 advanced to the Round of 16 in Paris before falling in straight sets against Stan Wawrinka. 

Marterer, whose only previous win against a player sitting higher in the ATP Rankings than Monfils came against World No. 16 Diego Schwartzman in Munich this year, impressively won 42 per cent of first-serve return points in the second and third sets to advance to the second round. The 22-year-old will face Britain’s Cameron Norrie, who beat Dominican Jose Hernandez-Fernandez 7-6(5), 6-1 in a battle between two former college tennis players.

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez notched his 10th tour-level win of 2018, upsetting fifth seed Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Garcia-Lopez, who reached the quarter-finals in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro on clay in February, converted six of his 18 break point chances to advance after one hour, 51 minutes.The 34-year-old will face France’s Calvin Hemery, who earned his second tour-level win on Sunday, for a spot in the quarter-finals.

Ecuador Open champion Roberto Carballes Baena took three hours and five minutes to book his place in the Round of 16, edging Laslo Djere 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 6-3. The Spaniard won 77 per cent of first-serve points and saved seven of eight break points en route to the triumph, earning him a second-round meeting against top seed Dominic Thiem.

Lucky loser Federico Coria came from a set down to secure his first ATP World Tour win in his first tour-level match, defeating compatirot Nicolas Kicker 4-6, 6-1, 7-5. The World No. 335 was just 2-5 on the ATP Challenger Tour this season. But nevertheless, the Argentine won 73 per cent of second-serve return points and broke his 25-year-old compatriot on six occasions to clinch his milestone victory.

Did You Know?
Federico Coria owned just one Top 100 triumph before beating Nicolas Kicker on Monday, which came against World No. 100 Renzo Olivo at the Campinas Challenger in October 2016.