Fuente: © Roland Garros (English)
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ROLAND GARROS: Gaston 'The Cat' strolls into second round

/noticias.info/ By Andrew Lilley
Monday, May 29, 2006

2004 champ Gaston Gaudio cruised to a straight sets 6-2 6-2 6-2 win over Roko Karanusic in first round action on Monday. The Argentinean No10 seed never really got out of second gear during the encounter on Court Suzanne Lenglen, his clay court expertise proving too much for the 24-year-old Croatian qualifier who is yet to record his first win in a Grand Slam tournament.

It did not take long for Gaudio to stamp his authority on the match. Indeed, any hopes Karanusic may have had of an upset vanished as early as the second game. After leading 30-0 on his own service, the Croat found himself blown away in the space of four points as 'El Gato' pounced on two relatively weak second serves to secure the break.

Karanusic had a chance - two, in fact - to break back in the seventh game, but at 15-40 on Gaudio's second serve, the Croat's nerve deserted him. Gaudio did his best to offer his young opponent a second chance by double faulting at deuce, but again Karanusic was unable to seize the opportunity. A mere eight points later, Gaudio had won his service, broken Karanusic's again and bagged the first set.

Second verse - same as the first. Once again, the set was decided in the space of a few points. In game six, Karanusic sent down the second of his three aces in the match to go 40-0 up, which served only to sting Gaudio into action. The Argentinean won the next five points to go a break up, then struggled, going 15-40 down and seemingly incapable of finding the service box on his first serve. A classy backhand inches inside the line reversed the tide, however, and Gaudio went on to hold his serve, break again and win the second set.

The third set was the mirror image of the first: Gaudio broke Karanusic's first service game, strolled through and finished the match off with another break for good measure. Despite what on paper seemed to be little more than a morning practice session, the No10 seed will be pleased with the fact that his first service percentage improved throughout the course of the match and also that he managed to save five break points in the early going.


LENGLEN - Men's Singles - 1st Round 1 2 3 4 5
Gaston Gaudio ARG (10) 6 6 6
vs.
Roko Karanusic CRO 2 2 2 notas_de_prensa_archivo