Van de Zandschulp, Bautista Agut survive from match point down in Monte Carlo; Thiem rolls

HIGHLIGHTS: Thiem dispatches Gasquet

A pair of determined competitors survived from match point down to advance at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on Monday.

Playing on Court 9, Botic van de Zandschulp denied Marton Fucsovics, 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-1. The 27-year-old was down a set and 3-0 before digging in, but later found himself facing the exit sign.

At 5-6, 15-40, van de Zandschulp held firm in an extended rally that saw Fucsovics fail to redirect a forehand from inside the baseline while his opponent retreated to a defensive position. That missed opportunity proved costly, as Fuscovics would dump a forehand into the net a few shots later and Van de Zandschulp quickly wiped away the second match point with an efficient serve +1.

Once reaching the tie-break, the Dutchman took control of the match and pulled away from the qualifier in part by winning 11 of 12 first-serve points during the decisive set.

Fourth seed Casper Ruud awaits in the second round. Though the Norwegian enters with a confidence-boosting title run in Estoril, van de Zandschulp recently upstaged the two-time major finalist in Miami and holds a 3-1 lead in their head-to-head series.

Roberto Bautista Agut also stepped on the gas following his own match point save, fending off lucky loser Filip Krajinovic, 5-7, 7-6 (10), 6-1.

The world No. 29 saw five set points evaporate ahead of Krajinovic’s shot to close out the contest at 10-9 in their topsy-turvy tiebreaker. Bautista Agut erased it with an ace out wide, a serve that the chair umpire corrected after it was initially called out. A short, dipping forehand passing shot then enabled the Spaniard to level and he sprinted ahead from there.

Bautista Agut picked up his first victory since February 21, ending a four-match losing streak.

Wild card Dominic Thiem was also among those to move through as play began winding down. Two days after announcing his long-time partnership with coach Nicolas Massu had come to an end, Thiem closed out action on Court Rainier III with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Richard Gasquet.

Thiem did not face a break point and finished with a +12 differential (19 winners, seven unforced errors). Last week, the 2020 US Open champion posted back-to-back wins for the first time this season en route to the Estoril Open quarterfinals.

"There were some good signs already last week in Estoril. Now I improved even more," said Thiem, who began a collaboration with coach Benjamin Ebrahimzadeh on a trial basis this week.

"The shots are getting way better. I have the feeling that I can go full power for many, many shots again with the wrist. There is no restriction anymore. Now the goal is to put everything together, because there is way more to tennis, way more things required to play good matches than to just be able to hit full."

An intriguing second-round showdown with No. 6 seed Holger Rune marks Thiem’s next challenge.