On Wednesday, May 23, 2012, the round of 16 matches were played on the courts of the Open de Nice. On the schedule was the first appearance of the tournament’s top four seeds: John Isner, Giles Simon, Nicolas Almagro, and Gaël Monfils. While all successfully passed this test with brilliance, only Gaël Monfils created a surprise by stumbling against the American qualifier Brian Baker.
In the morning, the tournament’s number 1 seed, John Isner, made his appearance on the central court at Nice LTC, with spectators flocking to see the 2.06m American giant, a true attraction of the week.
As usual, everything was decided in the tie-break. Against Xavier Malisse, he won in two sets (7-6 7-6).
In the quarters, Isner will face a metronome, Nicolay Davydenko, an exemplary returner, for an encounter that promises to be more than interesting.
The program continued with the highly anticipated arrival of Nice local Giles Simon for the match against the talented Bulgarian Dimitrov.
Against a dangerous opponent, Simon didn’t fall into the trap laid for him, delivering a quality performance with a lot of consistency for a victory with a score of 6-3 6-3.
Solid and very focused, the Nice native smoothly qualified for the quarter-finals. In the next round, Thomaz Bellucci awaits him, having won 6/4 6/3 over a considerably weakened Ferrero from the previous day’s match.
Another French player playing on the courts that Wednesday was Edouard Roger-Vasselin, who faced the tournament’s third seed, Nicolas Almagro. Though the Frenchman got off to the better start, breaking his opponent right away to lead 2/0, the logic was respected afterward… In the end, it was 7/6 6/4, but the Frenchman didn’t disappoint; on the contrary, he showed very good things as the grand event at Roland Garros approaches.
On court number 1, which acts as a secondary center court, the Australian phenomenon was caught off guard by the Kazakh player Kukushkin. Even though clay is not his preferred surface, the young Australian has significant weapons: a remarkable game intelligence and a thunderous backhand. The only downside is his somewhat approximate movement on clay.
Today, tenacity took precedence over talent. Yet, at only 19 years old, the Australian may have regrets. He let several match points slip away (4), notably in the third set at 5/4 in his favor, completely reigniting the match.
Even if he prefers to smile about it, what he didn’t know is that the match would definitively escape him. For his first participation, Tomic was stopped at the gates of the quarter-finals. As for his opponent, he will not face Gaël Monfils for a spot in the semifinals but rather a qualified player… Brian Baker.
The Revelation Baker
Thunderbolt at the Open de Nice with the disappointment of Gaël Monfils, who exited through the small door right from his first match, surprised by a remarkable qualifier, Brian Baker, ranked 216th in the world.
On paper, the ranking gap (more than 200 places) made it hard to imagine such a scenario.
It led to discussions, rightly so, about the unique story of this enormously talented player who hasn’t finished making headlines.
But is it really a surprise? Not so much, Gaël is terribly lacking victories this year. Facing him, a player coming out of the qualifiers who has already adapted to the tournament.
Baker has no fear, with a level of tennis well above his ranking.
The American played the perfect match for this second night session. Right from the start, the tone was set with the American breaking his opponent immediately and playing two impressive games to go ahead 2/0. The tone was then set. Monfils realized that if he wanted to win, he’d have to play his best tennis.
Trailing one set to zero (3/6), the crowd chanted the Frenchman’s name at every opportunity. In the second set, Monfils, somewhat shaken, regained his composure. The match became much more balanced.
At 4/4, Gaël saved two break points that would have allowed his opponent to serve for the match.
Baker remained impassive and showed nothing. With his back against the wall, the Frenchman pulled off some remarkable shots. In the tie-break, “la monf’” even had 3 opportunities to win the set, but Baker played the right shot every time. In the end, despite several match points being saved, the American outdid the Frenchman and clinched the decisive set, 11/9, in a charged atmosphere.
Brian Baker just pulled off the sensation of the day. A victory with style that promises more to come. In the quarters, Kukushkin awaits him, a match within reach…
The Open de Nice certainly doesn’t favor the French, who were invited this year by the organizers.
Having come to the Côte d’Azur to boost his confidence, Monfils will thus head to Roland Garros unprepared.
See you Thursday for the quarter-finals!!
