Gasquet And Simon Reach In The 2nd Round At Hassan II

Benoit Paire was beaten by Gilles Simon with the score 6-2, 6-7 (1), 7-6 (5) in an erratic all-French match. The match features 12 breaks of serve to get to the second round of the Grand Prix Hassan II on Monday.

Although Simon had no double-faulted four times and aces, he returned better and able to break the sixth-seeded Paire, seven times from eight chances. Simon, have who the clay-court tournament in the year 2008. That time the event took place in Casablanca. There he beat his countryman and that too for the fifth time in eight career meetings.
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FOGNINI FINED $24,000 FOR US OPEN CONDUCT

Fabio Fognini has been fined the sum of $24,000 for his unsportsmanlike conduct at the US Open, according to reports.

The Italian violated three conduct violations as he lost in the first round of the tournament. He was fined $15,000, $5,000 and $4,000 for the three violations by the US Open.

The 22-seed lost to his compatriot Stefano Travaglia 6-4, 7-6 (8), 3-6, 6-0. He insulted a female chair umpire that received widespread condemnations from fellow players, coaches and fans.

Fognini is known to be unsportsmanlike at times. He was fined $27,500 by Wimbledon back in 2014 for his outbursts even though he won the game.There are reports by some writers that Fognini called the umpire a “co*ksuckingwh*re.” Read more »

ROGERS CUP: ZVEREV VS RICHARD GASQUET

The ATP Rogers Cup second round sees two heavyweights in Alexander Zverev and Richard Gasquet clash.

Zverev is a top seed and a title contender while Gasquet is an experienced player. The stars would square up in Montreal as they slug it out for a spot in the next round.

Zverev is enjoying a great season so he would be beaming with confidence when he meets the dangerous Gasquet. He is ranking his highest at a Masters 1000 event but the German is slated to face a very experienced Frenchman who is seeking a big upset after a slow year. Zverev leads the head to head 2-0 as they have met twice earlier this year.

Zverev got a bye in the first round after his Citi Open title but Gasquet faced a tough match in the opening round. Gasquet had to dig deep to see off Canadian wildcard BraydenSchnur in three sets. Read more »

DJOKOVIC:MY THOUGHTS WILL BE ON THIS EVENT

On the tour, Roger Federer remains the in-form man at the moment. However, he would be skipping the clay-court season curtain-raiser.

Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, the two top players in the world will be looking to prove something as the duo make a return from injury to participate in this week’s Monte Carlo Masters.

They both have had a bout with elbow injuries with Murray, the World No. 1 proving his fitness in the Swiss city of Zurich during a recent exhibition with Roger Federer.

Last weekend during the Davis Cup action saw Djokovic display a good form as he led Serbia into the semi-finals of the event.

Speaking on Sunday, Djokovic noted that he felt great being in a place he feels at home with, where he spends a lot of time training. Read more »

MONFILS TO PLAY GASQUET IN MARSEILLE

Gael Monfils is set to play against Richard Gasquet as both stars clash in the last eight in Marseille.

Both French players will battle for a chance to continue in the tournament. Gasquet sent Russian Mikhail Youzhny home on his way to the quarterfinal clash while top seed Monfils defeated Ukraine international Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-1 6-4.

Another all-French clash is second seeded player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon’s. Tsonga thrashed Ukrainian Illya Marchenko 6-3 6-3 to qualify for the last eight.

In other fixtures, Slovakian Norbert Gombos will face Nick Kyrgios following is hard-fought win over Nicolas Mahut. The third seed Kyrgios is expected to progress but he would face a tough time against a confident Gombos.

Fourth seed Lucas Pouille will play unseeded Russian Daniil Medvedev. The Russian edged out German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7/3). Read more »

I WOULD MENTOR KYRGIOS IF ASKED –MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS

Mark Philippoussis, former Australian tennis player, has offered to help mentor the World No. 13, Nick Kyrgios, if only the young tennis star asks him.

Of recent, Kyrgios has been in the news for so many wrong reasons, and has not had a coach since he stopped working with Todd Larkham, on the eve of the 2015 Wimbledon.

The 2015 Wimbledon Championship had seen Kyrgios fail to return numerous serves in his fourth round loss to Richard Gasquet, and he was accused of tanking – the deliberate act of not playing up to his abilities.

Kyrgios had also generated controversy at the 2015 Rogers Cup during a match with his opponent, Stan Wawrinka. According to reports received, the Australian had told his Swiss opponent “Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend. Sorry to tell you that, mate”.

At the Shangai Rolex Masters in October this year, the 21 year old Australian star was fined US$16,500 and banned for eight weeks for ‘lack of his best efforts’ in his second round of play with Mischa Zverev. Read more »