Novak Djokovic needs three sets to get a victory over Mikhail Youzhny at the Monte-Carlo Masters on Wednesday. Djokovic is joined in the third round by Juan Monaco, who benefited from an Ernests Gulbis meltdown.
(1) Novak Djokovic d. Mikhail Youzhny 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
For a moment it looked like the world No. 1’s ankle would not hold up and he would have a brief stay at what has become his hometown tournament. But Djokovic had other ideas. Djokovic rebounded from a rough start to defeat Mikhail Youzhny in two hours and 15 minutes during second-round action at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Wednesday afternoon.
Playing less than two weeks after sustaining an ankle injury during Davis Cup action, Djokovic struggled to find his footing in the early stages of this match. In fact, he did not even get on the scoreboard a single time in the first four games of the match. Djokovic finally held for 1-4 and even broke back once for 3-5, but Youzhny delivered a clutch hold at 5-4 to finish the set.
The tide turned emphatically in the second, with Djokovic rolling through five consecutive games to take it. The top-seeded Serb missed two break chances at 1-0 but had no trouble seizing full control just a few minutes later.
That set the stage for an entertaining decider, in which Djokovic broke right away en route to a seemingly commanding 2-0 lead. Youzhny, however, was not about to end his upset bid without a fight. The 27th-ranked Russian broke back in the sixth game thanks to a flurry of errors by his opponent before surviving the best game of the tournament at 3-3, during which he battled out of four deuces and three break points.
In the end, however, Youzhny could not sustain the level necessary to finish off what would have been an incredible win. A tough hold brought Djokovic to 4-4 and he earned one more scalp of the Youzhny serve when the underdog netted a backhand drop-shot on break point. Djokovic wrapped up the proceedings one game later with a routine hold.
(14) Juan Monaco d. Ernests Gulbis 6-0, 3-6, 6-3
Even during his hottest of hot streaks, Ernests Gulbis has one of the most volatile tempers on tour. Gulbis, who had won 17 of his last 18 matches, incurred a game penalty in the third set en route to a loss at the hands of Monaco after one hour and 58 minutes.
For a while this match featured nothing more than straightforward dominance by Monaco. The 20th-ranked Argentine dropped only six service points in the first set and did not lose a single game. He broke for 1-0, 3-0, and 5-0 before serving it out in routine fashion.
Gulbis seemed to be on the fast track to a tame exit when he dropped serve again to fall behind 1-0 in set two. The Latvian ultimately lost eight games in a row before finally getting on the scoreboard with a hold for 1-2. Finally into the match, Gulbis earned his first break of the day for 3-3 and was momentarily off to the races. Gulbis ended the set on a five-game winning streak to force a decider in style.
The world No. 56, however, never came close to maintaining his momentum. Having already broken a racket in the first set, Gulbis was docked a point penalty serving at 0-1 in the third after kicking a ball into the stands. He dropped serve a few points later with an ill-advised drop-shot. One more broken racket resulted in a game penalty and put Gulbis in a 3-0 hole as Monaco got a free pass on serve.
Monaco showed signs of cracking when he failed to serve out the match at 5-1, but his opponent could not quite fully recover from a funk that was both mental and physical. Monte-Carlo’s No. 14 seed finished off the proceedings with an easy hold at 5-3 as Gulbis’ unforced error count–mostly off the forehand side–ballooned to 53.
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