Monday October 1, 2012
Crowd favourite Monaco overcomes resilient Benneteau to win in KL
By SHAMSHUL FITRI
KUALA LUMPUR: Juan Monaco will long cherish the Malaysian Open tennis championships as he won the title after a hard-fought battle at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
The Argentine beat a resilient Julien Benneteau of France 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in three hours for his first hardcourt title.
“It was an up and down performance from both of us and Julien gave a good fight. It wasn’t an easy match but it sure is one that I will remember,” said Monaco, who moves on to Tokyo for the Rakuten Open starting today.
Monaco took the first set in 20 minutes but Benneteau, who received treatment for his right arm during the break, won the second to force the decider.
The new champion: Juan Monaco of Argentina kisses his trophy after winning the singles final against Julien Benneteau of France in the Malaysian Open tennis championship yesterday. Monaco has been working hard to improve on surfaces other than clay and he believes his hard work has paid. His six previous career titles were on clay.
“I played in the Davis Cup semi-final against the Czech Republic on clay before coming here. My previous titles were also on clay,” said Monaco.
“I guess all my effort has finally paid off with this success in KL but I still need to work hard and be fit if I want to continue winning.”
Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares bagged the doubles title in only their fourth tournament together.
Doubles champions Alexander Peya-Bruno Soares with their trophy. Peya of Austria and Soares of Brazil defeated British pair Colin Fleming-Ross Hutchins 7-5, 5-7, 10-7 in the final.
Results
Men’s Singles: Juan Monaco (Arg) bt Julien Benneteau (Fra) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.
Doubles: Alexander Peya (Aut)-Bruno Soares (Bra) bt Colin Fleming-Ross (Bri) 7-5, 5-7, 10-7.
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