ARGENTINA FALL

David Nalbandian’s compatriot, Juan Monaco, has been defeated by Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia in the first round of the Australian Open 2013. Kuznetsov won the match in the straight sets by 7-6, 6-1, 6-1.

Monaco became the first seeded player to be defeated in the first round. All the seeded players except him moved easily into the second round.

Monaco was not 100% fit before the match. During the match, he took quite a few injury timeouts to have treatment, but, even after that, his pain didn’t get reduced and he kept struggling in the last couple of sets.

Monaco had withdrawn his name from the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament last week because of a hand injury. His participation in the Australian Open was in doubt because of that injury. The Argentinean didn’t manage to regain complete fitness before the Australian Open, but, he decided to take part in the tournament.

From the beginning of the second set, it was evident that Monaco was struggling, but, he didn’t retire. He kept playing with the pain till the end of the match. The crowd out there applauded for Monaco’s spirit of not giving up till the end.

In the first set, Monaco was not feeling that much pain and he played quite well. But, after the first set, his pain increased and his performance deteriorated. He was completely outplayed in the last couple of sets.

Kuznetsov hit some powerful shots and took the match away from Monaco. The Russian smashed a total of 6 aces in the match.

In the post match interview, Monaco said, “I hadn’t expected myself to be beaten in the opening round. It’s disappointing. Had I been 100% fit, the scenario could have been different.”

When asked if his injury is a severe one, Monaco said, “No, I don’t think it’s a major injury.  I am sure I will get fit within next two weeks.”