Gonzalez into last eight

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:31

Gonzalez, the 12th seed, was irrepressible as he stormed to a 6-2 6-4 6-2 win in 87 minutes over his beleaguered Romanian opponent, appearing in only his second last-16 clash at a grand slam.

In what proved to be a 25-minute first set, Gonzalez – the 2007 Australian Open runner-up – broke twice and smashed 18 winners, most of them coming off his renowned forehand that functioned superbly all match – and he never looked back.

Mixing that weapon with some deft drop-shots against the tall Hanescu, Gonzalez sent over 15 more winners in the second set and was waltzing along even though his first-serve percentage was hovering around the 50% mark.

He broke in the first game of the third set and went on to claim victory on his second match point, courtesy of another whipped forehand down the line – his 50th winner.

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