Tennishead Hot Stuff: Juan Monaco
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Twenty-four-year-old Argentine Juan Monaco, currently 55 in the world, didn’t have the best of times during the back-end of last year, but given he’s made a final, a quarter-final and won a live Davis Cup rubber already this year we thought at the very least he deserved one of our Hot Stuff treatments.
The rugged South American, known as Pico, began playing professionally in 2002 and reached a career-high ATP ranking of No.14 in February 2008. He first picked up a racket aged six in his hometown of Tandil alongside fellow ATP players Mariano Zabaleta, Juan Martin del Potro and Diego Junqueira.
Juan the man climbed from No.70 to 23 during 2007 and was one of the most improved players of the year, notching up three clay court titles along the way. He then continued 2008 in the same vein as he reached two ATP finals and ended January 2008 with a 9-2 match record.
A disappointing finish to 2008 has perhaps inspired Monaco to knuckle down during the early part of this season – he has begun to produce some handy results of late.
In February, Monaco advanced to his seventh career ATP World Tour Final in Buenos Aires, defeating countryman and defending champion David Nalbandian in the semis before falling in a third set tie-break to Tommy Robredo.
In addition to that runners-up spot he made the quarter-final in Vina del Mar (losing to Fernando Gonzalez) and won his Davis Cup singles rubber at the start of March as Argentina took out the Netherlands 5-0 in the first round of the World Group.
