Italian Open 2017: Juan Martin del Potro Rally Highlights Monday's Action
Juan Martin del Potro rallied from a set down to beat Grigor Dimitrov in the standout match on Monday at the Italian Open.
After a slow start, Del Potro blew away the 10th-ranked Dimitrov with powerful striking to secure a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 triumph. Earlier in the men's draw, ninth-ranked David Goffin battled into Round 2, coming back from a set down to get past Thomaz Bellucci.
Elsewhere, ninth-ranked Venus Williams is also through after a confident victory over Yaroslava Shvedova. The main casualty in the women's draw was 11th-ranked Elena Vesnina, who slumped to a disappointing loss in straight sets to Wang Qiang.
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Here are the results from Monday's matches at the Foro Italico in Rome.
| (9) David Goffin bt. Thomaz Bellucci | 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 |
| Juan Martin del Potro bt. (10) Grigor Dimitrov | 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 |
| Sam Querrey bt. (11) Lucas Pouille | 7-6 (6), 7-6 (8) |
| (12) Tomas Berdych bt. Mischa Zverev | 7-6 (7), 6-4 |
| John Isner bt. (14) Albert Ramos-Vinolas | 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-1 |
| (9) Venus Williams bt. Yaroslava Shvedova | 6-4, 7-6 (4) |
| (12) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova bt. Sam Stosur | 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 |
| (14) Barbora Strycova bt. Daria Kasatkina | 4-6, 4-3 (Ret) |
| (16) Mirjana Lucic-Baroni bt. Lucie Safarova | 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 |
Results in full and Tuesday's schedule are available on the tournament's official website.
Monday Recap
Dimitrov was unfortunate to draw a player of Del Potro's pedigree in the first round of the competition, as this clash was more befitting of a semi-final showdown. But those in attendance on Monday didn't mind.
Initially, the Bulgarian was the stronger of the two men, showcasing wonderful variety in his shot-making and pulling Del Potro all over the court. A 6-3 win in the opener was well-deserved for Dimitrov.
Having fallen a set down, Del Potro upped the aggression in his play. Suddenly, as we can see here courtesy of Tennis TV, his opponent was on the back foot:
The momentum shifted in this portion of the match. Del Potro was finding angles and striking the ball cleanly, whereas Dimitrov was growing frustrated, as he lost the second set 6-2.
The decider was an even affair to begin with, with neither man willing to give an inch in some tight games. But the Bulgarian blinked first, as he double-faulted on break point, handing his rival the chance to serve for the match. Del Potro seized the opportunity.
As we can see here courtesy of Ricky Dimon, after gifting Del Potro the break, Dimitrov was far from pleased with himself:
Elsewhere, 11th-ranked Lucas Pouille is out, with big-serving American Sam Querrey having gotten the better of the Frenchman in two consecutive tiebreaks.
The highest-ranked man to play and make it through on Monday was Goffin, although he didn't have things go his way throughout the entire match. Bellucci won the first set before the Belgian's class showed.
While he eventually did enough to go through, he, too, showed his anger at some sluggish play, per The Grandstand:
In the women's side of the draw, Vesnina's poor form continued, as the qualifier Qiang comprehensively outplayed her.
After winning in Indian Wells, the 11th-ranked Russian has struggled to gain momentum during the clay-court season and has now lost six of her last eight matches, per Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times.
As Jose Morgado of Record relayed, Caroline Garcia and Donna Vekic also battled in a thrilling match:
The big names will be in action in the men's bracket on Tuesday. After some disappointing results as of late, defending champion and top seed Andy Murray needs a big performance against when he takes to the court against home favourite Fabio Fognini. Novak Djokovic is up against Murray's compatriot, Aljaz Bedene.
Maria Sharapova will also take another step forward in her comeback, as she's set to face Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
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