The Rolex Monte Carlo Masters really got underway on Monday with all scheduled first round matches completed and producing a few interesting scorelines.
I want to thank the organisation for the wild card first and of course to win, it’s crazy for me Richard Gasquet
One of the early results produced Jack Draper's second round opponent namely the 45 ranked Marcus Giron, of the US, who earned that place by battling past Canada's Denis Shapovalov, ranked 29.
Both players had trouble with their serves but eventually the American prevailed 6-3 7-6(5) after one hour 48-minutes to face the British No.1, who is seeded 5 for the week. It will be their third meeting and he will be hoping to score his first victory over the Briton.
In fact, it wasn't a good day for Canada, who also saw Felix Auger Aliassime, seeded 15, crash out in straight sets.
The Montrealer, ranked 19, was ousted by the qualifier from Germany, Daniel Altmeier, 7-6(5) 6-3 in just under two hours and will face the French veteran Richard Gasquet, a wildcard entry, in round two.
Richard Gasquet on his way to a first round victory
(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
The 38-year-old Gasquet, who made an impressive Monte Carlo debut in 2002 as a 15-year-old, is a former semi-finalist. He secured his place in the second round by defeating Italy's Matteo Arnaldi 6-3 4-6 6-4, clinching victory after two hours and 35 minutes.
“I know how lucky I am to play on this court,” Gasquet, who is set to retire at this year's French Open, said in his on-court interview. “Maybe it was my last time. In the third set, that's what I told [myself] in my head: ‘Fight, fight, it may be the last set here, so you have to play well. You have to be good on the court, you have to fight.’ And I did it.
“I did some great shots and of course I'm really happy to win here. I want to thank the organisation for the wild card first and of course to win, it's crazy for me.”
Gasquet was joined in the second round by another veteran of French tennis, Gael Monfils, the great entertainer of the sport.
The 38-year-old has been having a good season with good runs at the last two Masters having won Auckland in January. He produced another excellent performance with a comeback win against the Hungarian qualifier, Fabian Marozsan 4-6 6-4 6-1. Next up for the popular Parisian is Andrey Rublev, the seventh seed.
Two former champions were also in action and produced very different performances as they departed this year's event early.
First, the Swiss star Stan Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam champion who celebrated his 40th birthday last week, was unable to maintain the momentum he set in the opening play as he went down to a very stubborn Alejandro Tabilo of Chile, 1-6 7-5 7-5.
The 2014 champion, playing on a wildcard, was trying to win his second match of the season and looked impressive as he kept Tabilo honest throughout the match, saving two match points before eventually capitulating on his 15th appearance at the event.
Meanwhile, at the end of the day, Fabio Fognini, the Italian who won the title in 2019 – also playing on a wildcard ticket – succumbed tamely to Argentina's clay court specialist and last weekend's Bucharest finalist, Francisco Cerundolo 6-0 6-3.
Tabilo and Cerundolo will be delighted with their success but won't relish their next opponents – Tabilo takes on Novak Djokovic, the third seed who has won the event twice, while Cerundolo faces an upbeat Spaniard, the second seeded Carlos Alcaraz.
Daniil Medvedev celebrates a tough first round win
(Photo by Mateo Villalba/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev was pressed by his Russian compatriot Karen Khachanov over two hours and 51 minutes to emerge eventually a 7-5 4-6 6-4 winner.
The 29-year-old, seeded 9 having slipped out of the top ten, recovered from 1-5 in the opening set and then lost a 4-1 lead in the second set of a topsy-turvy, hard-hitting match.
Italy's Matteo Berrettini moved past Argentine Mariano Navone 6-4 6-4 to reach the second round after one hour 48 minutes and set up what could be a blockbuster against the top-seeded Alexander Zverev, who leads him 4-2 from previous meetings.
Finally, former finalist Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina moved past American Ben Shelton, the 12th seed, 6-7(2) 6-2 6-1, who joins compatriot Sebastian Korda in the exit lounge following his 6-3 7-6(7) defeat by Czech Jiri Lehecka.
