Federer, Nadal, Djokovic all advance at Monte Carlo
Coming off the heels of his first title of 2008 (even though he didn’t need to finish the match), Roger Federer needed three sets to dispense of Ruben Ramirez Hidaglo in the second round of the Monte Carlos Masters Series event. Federer won the match 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(1) against the Spaniard and will now face Gael Monfils in the third round. Monfils “upset” #17 Ivo Karlovic 7-6(8), 6-1 to win his second round match.
Federer and Monfils played just a couple of weeks ago in Miami, with Federer winning 6-3, 6-4 but the two have never faced on clay. This should be an interesting match. Monfils is very capable of playing with Federer, he just needs to keep his unforced errors down.
The world’s best clay-courter, Rafael Nadal, needed little time to beat Mario Ancic in his second round match. In just over an hour and 18 minutes, Nadal won the match 6-0, 6-3 over the Croat. He will now take on fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero in the third round. Nadal is the three-time defending champion at Monte Carlo, and his last two finals victories have come over Roger Federer.
Finally, third-ranked Novak Djokovic won his second round match over Ivan Ljubicic 6-3, 6-3. Djokovic will now take on #14 Andy Murray in the second round. Djokovic is 3-0 against Murray in his career, but this could be an interesting match. Both players are only 21 years old, and both had a lot of hype over the last couple of years. It has been Djokovic though that has broken through, while Murray is still waiting to win a big title. Djokovic has to be the favorite in this match, but don’t count Murray out he can beat anyone when he is on.
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