Djokovic off to winning start in Monte Carlo

Second seed achieves comfortable 6-1, 6-0 win in first-round match.

MONTE CARLO: Novak Djokovic stormed into the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters as the defending champion won his 11th straight match of the season 6-1, 6-0 over Albert Montanes on Tuesday.

The second seed is bidding for a trophy at his fifth straight Masters 1000 after ending last season as winner at Shanghai and Paris and sweeping Indian Wells and Miami last month.

Ranked second in the world behind top seed and eight-time Monte Carlo champion Rafael Nadal, the Serb improved his record over Spain’s Montanes to a comfortable 6-0.

Meanwhile, ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga joined Djokovic in the third round with a hard-fought 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 victory over German Philipp Kohlschreiber on his third winning chance.

Tsonga needed just under two hours to go through in front of an enthusiastic crowd, with the seed taking a medical timeout on the way to finally securing victory on his third match point.

The Frenchman is playing the tournament for a fifth time, with a 2013 semi-final his best result at an event the French consider a ‘home’ tie. He continued his tradition of never losing in a Monte Carlo opening match.

In other matches, French compatriot Michael Llodra upset slumping Polish 16th seed Jerzy Janowicz 6-4, 6-2.

France’s Julian Benneteau advanced over Austrian Jurgen Melzer 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 but Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili handed a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Gilles Simon.

In other matches, Bulgarian 12th seed Grigor Dimitrov reached the second round over Marcelo Granollers 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 while Italian Andreas Seppi defeated 13th seed Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).

Aisam-Bopanna victorious in first round

Pakistan’s Aisamul Haq Qureshi and his Indian doubles partner Rohan Bopanna cruised into the pre-quarterfinals at the Monte Carlo Masters on Tuesday.

The unseeded duo defeated Austria’s Julian Knowle and Canada’s Vasek Pospisil 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 in their first-round match, hitting 10 aces in the process.

The Indo-Pak Express will face Lukasz Kubot and Robert Lindstedt in their next match.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 16^th, 2014.

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