Juan Monaco shares the same name as the Principality and played like a man intent on imprinting his name in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters. But Jo-Wilfried Tsonga took ownership of Court Central when it mattered most, serving Monaco with an eviction notice in reeling off five straight games to close out a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory. By the time Monaco’s forehand drop shot floated wide to end the two hour, 31-minute encounter, Tsonga’s white socks were streaked with red clay, leaving him looking like someone who spent the afternoon stomping on strawberries.
While Tsonga got his feet dirty in raising his record against the 36th-ranked Argentine to 3-0, the match was a reminder that his clay-court game is still very much a work in progress. Tsonga played only 13 matches on clay last season and got off to a slow start in his 2011 debut, trying to strike a balance between ambitious aggression and patient play, against an opponent who seems to miss shots as often as a metronome misses its mark.
A fast-footed grinder who changes direction quickly, Monaco broke for a 5-3 first-set lead. He tightened trying to serve it out, committing five errors to drop serve, but broke for the third time to take the first set.
The broad-shouldered Frenchman broke to open the second set and worked his way through a demanding 11-minute game, erasing a break point with an ace down the T and holding with a service winner for 2-0. Tactically, Tsonga took a few steps forward, taking the ball slightly earlier to gain an early edge in exchanges. Sending Monaco careening from corner to corner chasing mammoth forehands, Tsonga stepped forward and blasted a smash that bounced into the second row for set point. When Monaco found the net, Tsonga seized the 56-minute second set.
Monaco went up a break twice in the first three games of the decisive set, but Tsonga hits a much heavier ball, and the weight of his shot wore down the slender Monaco, who is listed 31 pounds lighter than Tsonga. An emotionally-expressive player who can excite fans with his explosiveness, Tsonga was subdued for much of the first two sets, but began to engage the crowd with shouts of “Allez!”
A forehand pass gave Tsonga the break in the fourth game, sparking a run that saw him win 10 of 11 points in the decider. He soared high to snap a smash, and then smacked successive aces to stretch his lead to 5-2 before sealing the win with his eighth service break. The 12th-seeded Tsonga advances to face Ivan Ljubicic in a top quarter of the draw that comes with a distinct French flavor: six Frenchman reside there. So does six-time defending champion Rafael Nadal.
—Richard Pagliaro