Fuente : Wimbledon
http://www.wimbledon.org

WIMBLEDON: The Force is With Gael

/noticias.info/ Wednesday, June 22, 2005

French young gun Gael Monfils delighted spectators on Court 3 this evening with his win over seasoned Slovakian Dominik Hrbaty.

The 18-year-old swept aside the No. 22 seed in a performance that had all the hallmarks of a potential champion.

Concentration and accuracy, coupled with raw power and finesse, worked to secure the youngster an early break in the first set. It was all Hrbaty could do to get a touch on serves that were whistling past his ears at 130mph. The spot-on positioning of the ball combined to help him secure the first set 6-3 in 29 minutes.

Despite his six-foot-plus frame, Monfils was agile around the court. This was particularly noticeable in the second set of the match as Hrbaty began to mix up the game with shorter balls to test his opponent.

On occasion it worked. With Monfils two sets up, Hrbaty dealt a deft dropshot in the first game of the third. Landing softly in the left-hand service box Monfils was not going to give up. He raced to the ball, narrowly missed it and the momentum saw him high-jump the net ready for the next game.

It was touches like this that endeared him to the crowd. Another example took the form of graceful gallops every time he hit an unexpected winner. But Hrbaty was not to be underestimated either.

Last year the 27-year-old reached the third round of Wimbledon for the first time. He also worked his way to the quarter-finals of the US Open and captured three ATP Tour titles. He has been in sticky situations before and began pulling out shots to put his younger counterpart under pressure.

Additionally, Monfils appeared to lose concentration after the umpire corrected a ball that had been called out, in favour of Hrbaty. Soon enough the veteran had the third set tucked safely under his belt.

However, Monfils quickly re-gained composure and raced to a 4-1 lead in the fourth. But then nerves appeared to get the better of the Frenchman who suddenly found himself 5-4 down. As the night started to draw in and distant church bells began to ring round the grounds, a fifth set looked to be a safe bet.

But, out of nowhere, Monfils began to hit like there was no tomorrow and it was enough to secure the match 7-5 in the fourth. The joy was written all over his face as he rejoiced, shouting 'allez!' on his way to the net. This time last year the young Frenchman was on his way to winning the Wimbledon Boys' Singles title. It's safe to say he's set to make a successful transition.

Written by Helen Gilbert


Court 3 - Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round
Gael Monfils FRA 6 6 2 7
Dominik Hrbaty SVK (22) 3 3 6 5 notas_de_prensa_archivo