Djokovic had to battle to pass to 3rd round & Tsonga was ousted in Monte-Carlo

Umpires, line men and women honored on center court

There was plenty of action in all 5 courts at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters this Tuesday, April 18, 2017, under a hot Mediterranean sun. But before the matches started all the umpires and line men and women gathered on center court for a grand photo opportunity, honoring their incredible work throughout the tournament.

Frenchmen Pouille, Mannarino & Chardy advance to next round

French players were on several courts meeting different destinies. It started with the victory of talented Frenchman Lucas Pouille over American Ryan Harrison 6-2, 64. Lucas Pouille said: “It was a good start for the tournament, very solid. From the beginning to the end, I played well, except for one game where I got broken. Other than that, I’m very happy with this first round.”

An all-French encounter followed where Qualifier Adrian Mannarino ousted Jo-Wilfriend Tsonga (ATP 10), who had made a come back after several months away from the circuit due to the birth of his baby boy Shugar. The Frenchman said: “Today was a good match. It was good tennis. There were some parts that were not so good. But as a whole, it was a good match. I would like to congratulate my opponent. He played a really good match. He’s one of the players who are really giving it their all on the Tour. He’s improving a lot. I really want to congratulate him. He played a very good match. He was better than me today… I’ll try to come back and be better next time.”

Novak Djokovic made his debut by winning over French Gilles Simon in three sets, but the Serb World No. 2 had to fight hard because Simon was playing beautifully and battled hard until the end, conceding in the third set: 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in over two hours and 32 minutes. Novak said: “It was a very difficult match with many long rallies. Physically difficult but very happy to have won. It is my first match on clay after Roland Garros and it requires different tactics and demands more adaptation time. Thank you to the public for their support, there was a great ambiance.”

Belgian David Goffin beat Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, a clay court specialist, after playing a tight first set and flying through the second, 7-5, 6-1.

Lucas Pouille April 18, 2017 @CelinaLafuentedeLavotha

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga @CelinaLafuentedeLavotha

Adrian Mannarino April 18, 2107 MCRM @CelinaLafuentedeLavotha

Novak Djokovic @CelinaLafuentedeLavotha

Results for Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Court Rainier III

Lucas Pouille (Fra) d. Ryan Harrison (USA)
Adrian Mannarino (Fra) d. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Fra)
Novak Djokovic (Srb) d. Gilles Simon (Fra)
David Goffin (Bel) d. Nicolas Almagro (Spa)

Court des Princes

Gilles Muller (Lux) d. Tommy Robredo (Spa)
Tommy Haas (Ger) d. Benoit Paire (Fra)
Jeremy Chardy (Fra) d. Borna Coric (Cro)
Pablo Cuevas (Uru) d. Joao Sousa (Por)

Court No. 2

Jan-Lennard Struff (Ger) d. Casper Ruud (Nor)
Karen Kachanov (Rus) d. Nicolas Mahut (Fra)
Feliciano Lopez (Spa) d. Daniil Medvedev (Rus)

Court No. 9

Paolo Lorenzi (Ita) d. Marcel Granollers (Spa)
Carlos Berlocq (Arg) d. Philipp Kohlschreiber (Ger)
Romain Arneodo (Mon)/Hugo Nys (Fra) d. P. Carreno Busta (Spa)/G. Garcia Lopez (Spa)
Alexander & Mischa Zverev (Ger) d. Paolo Lorenzi (Ita)/Albert Ramos-Vinolas (Spa)

Court No. 11