Solid start in Toronto
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Photograph by Getty
Andy is through to the third round of the Masters 1000 event in Toronto after a confident 7-5 6-2 win over Xavier Malisse which sets up a tie against Gael Monfils on Thursday.
The Belgian broke early and got to within two points of an early one set lead, only for Andy to spring into life and play some distinctly rust free tennis.
Reeling off a string of games, he took it 7-5 before taking advantage of a slew of Malisse errors to go 4-2 in front in the second.
The Belgian’s fate was finally sealed when serving to stay in the match at 2-5 as yet another double fault sealed the win.
“The conditions were very warm, very different to LA where I played a week ago,” said Andy. “The ball’s bouncing very, very high and Malisse was hitting some huge forehands and taking the ball very early.
“I started playing a bit higher over the net in the second set, and towards the end of the first and that definitely helped. He made a few more errors and he was finding it a little bit harder to go for his shots.”
Andy’s attentions now turn to Monfils, a player he’s known well since their days in the junior ranks.
“He’s probably the best athlete that’s ever played the game,” said Andy. “He’s so fast, he can jump incredibly high, he reaches most balls, so it’s going to be difficult.
“I’ve played well against him in the past when I’ve changed the pace of the ball against him because when he’s just moving side to side he doesn’t miss a whole lot.
“So I’ll try and use some slice, some angles, and try and get him moving.”
» Go to the top of the page Close and go back