Tennis: Gasquet cruises into 3rd round

MONTPELLIER: Richard Gasquet progressed to the third round of the ATP Montpellier with considerable ease, ousting Russian Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 6-4. The fourth-seed hit 10 aces and won 84 per cent of points on his first serve in a dominant performance. Meanwhile, France’s Gilles Simon was also a straight-sets winner as he defeated Italian Flavio Cipolla 6-3 6-2. Simon struggled to land his first serve throughout the match, but when he did, he served nine aces. In other matches, German Philipp Kohlschreiber defeated France’s Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-4, 7-5, while wildcard Guillaume Rufin continued his good run with a 7-6, 6-3 win against Feliciano Lopez.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd, 2012.