Monaco wins in Austria
Portschach, Austria -- Juan Monaco hammered out a 7-6 (7-3), 6-0 win against Gael Monfils Saturday in the final of the Hypo Group Tennis International in Portschach, Austria.
It was the 23-year-old Monaco's second ATP title of the season, tying him with World No. 2 Rafael Nadal as the only players with multiple wins on clay this year. He won the Copa Telmex Tournament at Buenos Aires in February.
Monaco dropped one set in his first four matches this week, and lost just six points in a dominant second set.
"It was crucial to win the first set today," Monaco said. "We were both pretty tired and the tie-break was the most important moment of the match. I gave everything and tried to win every point in the tie-break. I knew that I had to play aggressively."
The victory was worth $75,000.
Monfils had earlier beaten Grand Slam champions Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International.
