Juan Mónaco shocked Miami with a surprise victory over Spain’s Fernando Verdasco today, which sent the Tandíl native into the quarter-final of the Masters 1000 against Tomas Berdych.
‘Pico’ started as the underdog against Verdasco, who had taken down compatriot Rafael Nadal earlier in the competition, but dominated play to win in straight sets. The Argentine prevailed 6-3, 6-3, and will now face eight seed Berdych in the last-eight.
Berdych also triumphed today when Gael Monfils withdrew due to injury. The Czech was up 6-3 and 3-2 in the second set when he was awarded the walkover victory.
Mónaco, who hit 68 winners to his opponent’s 57, will now look for a win to equal his best-ever performance in a Masters event. In 2012, the Argentine reached the semi-finals before going down to current champion Novak Djokovic.
Source: Buenos Aires Herald