The first round has been the final stop for Albert Montanes this season. Battling a creaky back, the Barcelona native failed to survive the opening around in six of his seven tournament starts. So when Milos Raonic ran off five consecutive games to seal the second set today, it appeared another premature parting was on tap for Montanes, who had not won a three-set match since last September in Shanghai.
But the 71st-ranked Spaniard was in no mood for an early exit. Scrambling, sliding, and shrewdly working the width of the court to stretch the 6'5" Raonic into awkward positions, Montanes downsized the Canadian power merchant, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, in a streaky match to reach the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters.
Sporting a baggy Asics shirt and shorts, a backward baseball cap, and a white wristband worn so high on his right forearm it could be mistaken for an elbow pad, the 5'9" Montanes looks about as imposing as a public parks hacker. But watching him construct points today—alternating heavy, inside-out topspin forehands with slower slice backhands to corner Raonic before unloading with his one-handed backhand down the line—you can see why he's won five clay-court titles in his career and been ranked as high as No. 22. Montanes doesn't often overplay, but consistently squeezed shots inside both sidelines to stretch his slower opponent.
Ambition got the best of Raonic as he double faulted, forced a forehand long, then steered an open-court forehand volley wide of the sideline to face an early break point. Another forehand error gave Montanes the break and a 3-2 first-set lead; the Spaniard won 16 of the last 19 points to take the set in 35 minutes. Raonic, who hit six of his nine aces in the second set, rallied from a 1-3 second-set deficit with three consecutive love games. He won 16 of 17 points to build a 5-3 lead before serving out the set.
Raonic has ridden his rocket first serve to three finals and two tournament titles this year. Just 21, he's already become one of the most feared servers on tour, leading the ATP in service games won (94 percent), first-serve points won (83 percent) and break points saved (77 percent). But the red clay slowed up his serve enough to allow Montanes to block back returns and drag the bigger man into longer rallies. Montanes has a low ball toss and quick service action that makes him look like a man trying to bang a nail into a wall, but he backed up his serve more effectively in the third set, winning 18 of 21 first-serve points, while Raonic won nine of his 16.
Bamboozling Raonic in a series of sharp slice exchanges, Montanes camped out in his backhand corner, baiting the bigger man to strike down the line. When a Raonic forehand missed the mark, Montanes broke for 4-2. At the end, the 31-year-old veteran capped a 15-shot rally with a clean forehand winner down the line, erupting in a double fist pump and primal scream, revealing how meaningful this match was for Montanes, who faces seventh-seeded Janko Tipsarevic next.
—Richard Pagliaro