22.01.2009

Fernando Gonzalez has cruised into the third round of Australian Open 2009, defeating Guillermo Cañas in straight sets on Thursday, 7-5 6-3 6-4.

The 13th seed utilised a strong forehand, producing 23 forehand winners to complete the match in two hours and 20 minutes.

Gonzalez got an early break to lead the first set 3-0, but the Argentine broke back at 4-2 and then saved five set points, serving to stay in the set at 4-5. Gonzalez got the better of Cañas, deploying another of his strong forehands to take the set with Canas serving to force a tie-breaker.

The second set stayed on serve until the sixth game, which featured six deuces and saw Cañas save four break points before eventually succumbing to the might of the Chilean.

Despite a strong inside-out forehand, solid net play and fewer unforced errors, Cañas was unable to get even another break point opportunity for the remainder of the match.

The final set included another lengthy game in which Cañas managed to hold onto his serve after six deuces, but a break at 2-2 got Gonzalez the lead he needed to take the match, with the last five games going on serve.

To his credit, Cañas saved an amazing 16 break points and one match point, but with 20 more winners than the Argentine, Gonzalez showed why he was ranked more than 60 places ahead of his opponent.

Gonzalez will play Richard Gasquet in the third round on Saturday.

Quick facts

Gonzalez served 12 aces to Canas’ nine

The Chilean made 33 unforced errors, while Cañas had 23

Cañas’ fastest serve was 203km/h, while Gonzalez’s was 201km/h

By Bronwen Largier
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