Monfils Overcomes Gojo in Madrid Opener

Gaël Monfils took a set to find his footing on the center court in Madrid. The Parisian, facing qualifier Borna Gojo, secured a 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory in 1 hour and 41 minutes in his opening match.

Gojo started the match in top gear, firing 12 winners to just four unforced errors in the first set, missing only one first serve. After just 20 minutes of play, the Croat was in full control against an opponent who clearly hadn’t settled into the match.

Stung into action, Monfils surged ahead early in the second set to level the contest. Both players held serve in the decider until Monfils broke at 4-4 before sealing the win on his own serve.

Now through to the second round of this Masters 1000 event, the Frenchman will face Andrey Rublev. The Russian defeated him (6-4, 7-6) earlier this month in Monte-Carlo at the same stage of the tournament.