Monfils steals win with power and flair

Gael Monfils danced his way into the third round Wednesday, surviving a tough and hard-hitting battle against Russia's Igor Andreev 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 to claim a victory on his 24th birthday.

The tone of the match was set from the beginning, with both players exchanging powerful shots from the baseline. The No. 17-seed Monfils took two breaks in the first set to steal the one-set lead, and the level of play only got better from there.

Andreev turned up the heat on Monfils, keeping his French opponent on a string in the second set and providing some exciting theatrics that had the crowd gasping.

During one point in the fifth game, the Russian had Monfils running from sideline to sideline, sliding on the asphalt as if it were a clay court. But Monfils showed off his athleticism, returning everything Andreev threw at him, including a short drop shot at the net that he tracked down with a sprint from way behind the baseline. His return game was just as impressive, and he was able to steal a break late in the set to end it at 6-4.

Monfils's efforts quickly gave him a 3-0 advantage in the third set, and theatrics continued. Ever the showman, he tried to pull off a between-the-legs shot from the baseline, but it sailed long. On another point, a drop shot from Andreev had Monfils scrambling to return it, and though he couldn't get to it in time, he avoided a run-in with the net by leaping over it and onto Andreev's side of the court. The crowd went wild, and Monfils and Andreev exchanged a laugh at what had just happened.

Andreev had two break chances at 4-2 to get back on serve, but Monfils managed to hold for a 5-2 edge thanks to Andreev's costly errors. Match point featured a long baseline rally, but an error on an Andreev shot that sailed long gave the Frenchman the match.

This is the third straight year Monfils has advanced to the third round. This year, he'll try to match his US Open-best result of the round of 16, but first he'll have to face off against either Andy Roddick or Janko Tipsarevic in the third round.