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Monaco 5-0 against Cuevas, but that means nothing today

The last time they met was back in 2011 and Cuevas is a whole different player now. He has been doing well for a while now but Monaco is good too. It will be an intersting match without a favorite

Despite losing to De Bakker in Sao Paulo, Monaco displayed a great game to go on to Rio and get a set against the player who later won the tournament, this confirming his performances on clay are great. Buenos Aires is just another confirmation of it as Monaco recorded two easy wins to get in the quarterfinals.

He first beat Gonzales and then another Argentine Mayer. Mayer had his best season ever last year and is currently the No.1 Argentina's player. Monaco, however, showed why he is among the Top 5 still active players when it comes to number of wins on clay. Juan was more consistent while Mayer often went for risky shots that didn't pay off. Apart for a few bad moments in the second set, we can say that Monaco won this match easily even though Mayer was kind of a favorite. 

- I think we both played at a very high level and that we both tried our best. When things got more complicated in the second set, I remained calm and fought till the very end - Monaco said and added:

- I have been feeling great since Rio. I lost to Ferrer, but he went on to win the title. I was focused from the start, I felt well. The last few games were great. I knew I was playing a tough opponent and I had to stay at a very high level the whole time because there weren't many opportunities. I was confident. 

His confidence was best seen late in the second set. He had been serving great up to then but the opponent had 40-00 and 40-15 in Monaco's last two service games. He managed to win them both, which is the best proof of how high his level of confidence is. This is the fourth consecutive QFs for Monaco and his game is at the last season's level after that bad period.

- Playing here, in a place that means this much to me is something special - Monaco said.

He is to face Cuevas in the battle for semifinals. Cuevas was given the first round bye as one of the top 4 seeds and met Argentine Andreozzi in the second round. Andreozzi beat Molteni for his first ATP win in the first round. He was the underdog in the match against Cuevas, of course, but that only meant he can be completely relaxed as he had nothing to lose.

He did well in the first set, even had more than one chance against Cuevas' serve while winning his service games easily. We need to admit that Cuevas seemed a bit off, his forehand was bad, and the conditions clearly bothered him. It was very windy and rainy and the ball kept bouncing all around the place. But, in accordance with his experience, Cuevas went on putting more pressure on the opponent each next game and managed to convert his break point opportunity in the 11th game. But he went on to serve badly and lost the next service game. He got immediately ahead in tie-break, won it and then lost only one game in the second set. 

- It was my first match here so I needed some time to get used to everything and there was a string of things disabling me from it, the wind in particular. I had my family here and that might have been a bit distracting too. But once I got ahead in the second set I felt calmer and had a better feeling - Cuevas said.

He has really played second set as he should have from the start. Andreozzi used his bad game in the first set but Cuevas was never to lose a set, he is just too good. He managed to win without much trouble in spite of everything and he said that the key to success is staying calm:

- I worked a lot on staying calm and collected and that makes all the difference in sports. 

It will be an interesting match between Cuevas and Monaco. Cuevas is 0-5 in their head-to-head matches, the last of which took place back in 2011. A lot has changed since, though. Monaco is improving and playing well, Cuevas has been doing it for a while now. He already had a title this season and three at this level in the last half a year. 

Monaco is visibly improving with each new match, signs of which were there against de Bakker, and were fully confirmed against Ferrer and Mayer. He said he's been playing very well since Rio, and that he's satisfied and confident. Playing the Buenos Aires tournament is a special thing for him, and he will certainly do his best. Today he'll be facing Cuevas, who is in great form. He had some issues with the surface conditions at the start against Andreozzi and it took him a while to get up to his level, after that victory never came into question. Cuevas is a player who makes few mistakes and gives no gifts, getting stronger mentally and constantly proving he belongs at the top, especially on clay. Since Monaco is also improving in game terms and mentally, and is also highly motivated here, with the audience on his side too, I believe this will tip the scales in his favor. It will be tough to win against an opponent as stable and smart as Cuevas, but I believe it will happen in the end. Looking at the abilities of both players, Monaco can definitely give more.