After his impressive performance at home at the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000, Valentin Vacherot committed to the Madrid Masters 1000. Exempt from the first round, the Monegasque, seeded 14th, started his campaign on Friday, April 24th against the American Emilio Nava.
Valentin Vacherot, beyond the 200th place in the world just a few months ago, joined the tennis elite following his achievement at the Shanghai Masters 1000. Today, the Monegasque, ranked 16th in the ATP standings, seems to be embracing this new status and the accompanying responsibilities. However, today he faced a stronger opponent and was eliminated early in Madrid after a very tight match against Emilio Nava.
The first set resulted in an intense duel where both players neutralized each other for 1 hour and 11 minutes. Despite several opportunities on both sides, neither player managed to convert their break points, leading to a logical tie-break. This tie-break was just as contested as the rest of the set, until an unfortunate double fault by Emilio Nava gave the first set to the Monegasque.
Valentin Vacherot displayed solid service and returns. His heavy and deep forehand often pushed his opponent back. While the American was more aggressive with 18 winners (nine for Vacherot), he also committed many unforced errors (23 compared to 13 for his opponent) and struggled with his second serves, winning only 35% of points behind his second serve. Ultimately, Valentin Vacherot won just four more points than his opponent to claim the first set.
The scenario is similar in the second set. Valentin Vacherot earned three match points at 5/4 on his opponent’s serve, but failed to close it out. After two breaks were converted by both players, they were once again separated by a tie-break. The Monegasque completely faltered, allowing Emilio Nava to dominate the tie-break 7-1.
This time, it was the American who won only four more points than Vacherot for the entire set. Nava dictated most of the exchanges with 29 winners against 28 unforced errors.
At the start of the third set, the match remained closely contested until 3/2. Emilio Nava took advantage of a more nervous Valentin Vacherot and made the break. When it came to closing out the match, the American had to save two crucial break points before emerging victorious (6/7-7/6-6/3).
Stronger on his first serve, Emilio Nava served 21 aces compared to just 6 for Valentin Vacherot. He saved 17 of the 19 break points against him. Despite his 60 winners, the American won by just four more points than his opponent. In the next round, he will face Arthur Fils, who defeated the young Peruvian Ignacio Buse later in the day.
