By: Osabuohien Imuetinyanosa
Monfils Seizes Victory Over Compatriot Mpetshi Perricard In Australian Open.
Gael Monfils won against No 30 seed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 7-6 (7), 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-7 (5), 6-4 to progress successfully into the second round of the Australian Open on Tuesday at Melbourne Park.
Monfils 17years older than Mpetshi Perricard who, to his credit, won the Auckland title on Saturday, outlasted his compatriot Mpetshi Perricard who held two match points in the third set, but was unable to seize the victory.
However, he was brilliant on serve, not facing a single break point across the five sets, winning 84 percent of first serve points and landing just one ace less than his countryman, who is known for his booming serve.
The veteran’s ability shows his dexterity and resilience with the racket maintaining a spectacular error-free tennis which was key to his success, with Monfils making just 34 unforced errors to Mpetshi Perricard’s 61 over the course of the three-hour, 46-minute match.
Meanwhile, Mpetshi Perricard was unable to walk away victorious, he hit what will likely go down as one of the shots of the tournament, executing a front-facing tweener volley lob at 0-1 in the fourth set tiebreak.
Monfils, ranked No 41, will face the winner of the match between Argentinian Francisco Comesana and German Daniel Altmaier next.
Monfils had advanced to the second round at Melbourne Park for the 17th time and extended his French record for most Grand Slam wins to 126.
“I don’t really look at my age. It is just a number,” he said.
“I try to avoid thinking about it, but I can tell you that tomorrow morning I will be (feeling) more 48 than 38.”
