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Tennis News – Stan the Man: Wawrinka starts Monte-Carlo Masters In Style With Win Over Pouille
- Updated: April 14, 2019
Stan the Man: Wawrinka starts Monte-Carlo Masters in style with win over Pouille
By Ricky Dimon
If you forgot that the Monte-Carlo Masters began on Sunday, you missed a trio of big names booking early spots in the second round. Stan Wawrinka, Borna Coric, and Grigor Dimitrov all picked up victories as the European portion of the 2019 clay-court swing got underway.
Wawrinka and Lucas Pouille, who both found themselves unseeded with rankings just outside the top 30, had to go head-to-head right off the bat and their showdown went the way of the Swiss via a 7-5, 6-3 decision. During the one hour and 15 minutes of play, Wawrinka capitalized on horrendous 40 percent serving by his opponent to break three times. The 34-year-old served poorly, himself, (47 percent) but he won 86 percent of his first-serve points.
“The beginning was a bit tough,” Wawrinka reflected. “I was hesitating; I was a bit slow; I was nervous, and I was looking a little bit for the conditions. He took advantage; he broke me directly and then I started to play a little bit better. I started to know a bit more what I had to do. I broke back, he [made] one mistake, and I [played] one good point and then suddenly the match turned. He felt under pressure, I started to play a bit better, more aggressive, and I am happy with the win.”
The three-time Grand Slam champion awaits either Marco Cecchinato or Damir Dzumhur in the last 32.
Dimitrov has endured a rough 2019 campaign, but he opened with a solid 7-5, 6-4 win over Matteo Berrettini. It lasted one hour and 53 minutes despite requiring only two sets to be decided. The Bulgarian got a look at 18 break-point chances, of which he converted four.
In the most blockbuster first-round matchup of the entire tournament, Coric scraped past rising star Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 after two hours and 52 minutes.
Guido Pella also advanced, beating Rio de Janeiro champion Laslo Djere 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-4. Pella also captured the first ATP title of his career during the Golden Swing, triumphing in Sao Paulo–where he beat none other than Djere in the semifinals.