ATP Indian Wells: Nishioka tops Auger-Aliassime. Monfils and Thiem march on
An in-form Gael Monfils is closing on 100th Masters 1000 win following a 6-0, 6-3 triumph over Albert Ramos-Vinolas in 70 minutes, scoring the 14th triumph in 17 matches in 2019. Gael saved three out of four break points and the Spaniard was nowhere near that level, dropping almost 60% of the points in his games and suffering five breaks from 13 opportunities given to Monfils. The Frenchman hit 23 winners and 18 unforced errors while the Spaniard hit only nine winners and 26 unforced errors, struggling from the forehand wing and ending his journey in the third round.
Gael sailed through the opening set and he opened a 3-1 lead in the second before Ramos-Vinolas pulled the break back in game five, staying in touch with Monfils for some ten minutes before suffering a break at 15 in game eight, sealing the deal with a hold at love for the place in the last 16. The 7th seed Dominic Thiem needed just 67 minutes to dismiss Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-1, beating the Frenchman for the ninth time in 11 matches and the eighth in a row. Simon landed only 41% of the first serve in and that was a recipe for disaster, losing 60% of the points behind the initial shot and suffering five breaks from as many chances he gave to the Austrian.
Thiem had 18 winners and 19 unforced errors, doing more than enough to overpower Simon's eight winners and 33 unforced mistakes, gaining an early lead and never looking back. The first break of serve came in the third game when Dominic won all four points on the return, increasing the lead to 5-2 with another break at love in game seven. Thiem wasted two set points on serve in the following game to get broken although that could hardly stop him, scoring another break at love in game nine for a 6-3. Gilles gave serve away in the fourth game of the second set and Dominic opened a 5-1 gap with a backhand winner, sealing the deal with a forehand winner in game seven to advance into the last 16 in style.
Competing at only his second Masters 1000 event in a career, the 19-year-old lucky loser Miomir Kecmanovc has drawn the most from the favorable draw, toppling the fellow Serb Laslo Djere 6-2, 7-6 in an hour and 39 minutes for the best result in a career and another big step towards the top-100. Miomir had the upper hand in the shortest and mid-range rallies, winning 12 points more then Laslo who was aggressive but at the cost of too many mistakes. Kecmanovic saved five out of seven break points and grabbed the rival's serve four times to seal the deal in straight sets following a set point he saved at 4-5 in the second set, bringing it home in the tie break for the place in the last 16.
In the longest match of the day, Yoshihito Nishioka prevailed against the teenage sensation Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 in two hours and 55 minutes for the eighth Masters 1000 win. The young Canadian made a great start, taking the opener in the tie break before losing serve thrice in a row in set number two, with Yoshihito winning it 6-4. The Japanese raced into a 5-1 lead in the decider and just when it seemed it is all over Felix started to bounce back, saving three match points to erase the deficit and reach the positive side of the scoreboard.
The Canadian had the momentum now but it wasn't to be for him, leading 5-3 in the tie break before dropping the last four and push Nishioka into the fourth round where he will face Miomir Kecmanovic.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2HtwekD
No comments