Monfils To Face Tsonga In Monte Carlo 2016 SF
Monfils To Face Tsonga In Monte Carlo 2016 SF
Apr152016
Frenchman prevails in three sets
France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga reached the semi-finals of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Friday as he battled to upset Roger Federer 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.
The eighth-seeded Tsonga held his nerve to edge Federer in just over two hours, claiming sixth win in 17 meetings with the Swiss.
Tsonga will face either countryman Gael Monfils or Spanish lucky loser Marcel Granollers on Saturday for a place in his first tour-level clay-court final.
Playing this week in his first tournament since the Australian Open, Federer made a strong start to the match, breaking Tsonga three times to wrap up the opener. But the Swiss could not keep up his momentum, immediately dropping serve to open the second set. Trailing 1-4, Federer recouped one of the breaks, but Tsonga broke again in the seventh game before levelling the match.
The third set was a tight affair, with neither player creating a break point until the 11th game, when Tsonga broke Federer to 15 before serving out a memorable victory on Court Ranier III.
The 30-year-old Tsonga also reached the final four at the Monte-Carlo Country Club in 2013, falling to Rafael Nadal. He claimed his 39th Top 10 win (39-73 record) and first in Monte-Carlo after going 0-3 in the past three years.
Federer was making his comeback in Monte-Carlo after undergoing arthroscopic surgery for a torn meniscus in his left knee after reaching the Australian Open semi-finals. His scheduled comeback in Miami was delayed due to illness.
The Basel native was contesting his eighth quarter-final in 13 visits to Monte-Carlo and is a four-time runner-up at the third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the year.
Britain’s Andy Murray is through to the Monte Carlo Masters semi-finals following an impressive win over Canadian Milos Raonic.
The world number two won 6-2 6-0 in 66 minutes and will next play Rafael Nadal, who beat Stan Wawrinka 6-1 6-4.
It was a much improved performance from Murray, who broke 10th seed Raonic’s serve five times.
In the other half of the draw, Roger Federer plays Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils faces Marcel Granollers.
“It’s the most challenging surface for me every year,” said Murray.
“It normally takes me a few weeks to remember what I need to do, how to move, the way to build up the points and making sure you don’t rush.”
Murray needed almost three hours to beat Benoit Paire on Thursday and had struggled for form since the Australian Open in January – but he was close to his best against Raonic.
The Scot, 28, dominated all aspects of the game but was especially aggressive on the return, denying the big-serving Raonic a single ace and breaking five times.
“The two most important shots in tennis I did really well,” added Murray.
“I was getting a good read on the serve and, when he missed the first serve, I was being very offensive on the second serve return and putting him under pressure.
“The serve and the return for me were the best they’ve been for a while and I’m glad, because they weren’t so strong the last couple of matches.”
Jamie Murray boosted his hopes of hanging on to the doubles world number one spot for a while longer as he and Brazil’s Bruno Soares reached the semi-finals.
The pair beat sixth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea 6-2 6-3, despite Murray requiring treatment to his thigh at one stage.
Murray leads Marcelo Melo by just five points in the rankings and will face the Brazilian, and partner Ivan Dodig of Croatia, in the last four on Saturday.
Andy Murray is also still in the doubles alongside fellow Briton Dom Inglot – the pair will play France’s Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert later on Friday.
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Roger Federer has been named to Sports Illustrated’s Fashionable 50, joining the likes of Serena Williams, LeBron James, David Beckham and Tom Brady on the inaugural list.
SI wrote: “Tennis’s Swiss star and 17-time Grand Slam champion may have a colorful, garish look during matches, but Federer’s fun Nike kits allow him to settle in off the court and serve as a contrasting partner to his classic off-duty style. Federer’s choices are not cookie cutter or overly basic—you won’t see him in khaki pants with a blue blazer with gold buttons—but his looks are welcoming, simplistic and appeal to many different personalities. His partnerships with brands such as Rolex also influence his luxe, modern look. Federer’s involvement with the Jordan brand is groundbreaking and the shoes, made in collaboration with Michael Jordan, are a highly sought-after exclusive sneaker.”
A panel consisting of Sports Illustrated editors, sports and fashion experts came together to select the world’s most stylish athletes, taking into consideration such factors as their attire, endorsements, designer collaborations and social media presence.
The New York Giants’ Victor Cruz came in at No. 1 on the list, with Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Serena Williams and Henrik Lundqvist rounding out the Top 5.
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Recapping Thursday’s doubles action in Monte-Carlo
The top seeds and defending champions both bowed out in the second round on Thursday at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters.
In a fast turnaround after winning their 110th team title on Sunday in Houston, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan were ousted by Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, falling 6-4, 6-3 in 62 minutes.
“It’s very special to beat the Bryans in such a big tournament as Monte-Carlo,” said Farah. “I struggled with an injury in the month of March and was not able to play Indian Wells and Miami, so to bounce back this way is very gratifying. Sebas and I are playing at a high level and hope to back it up tomorrow.”
The Bryans had beaten Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini in the final last year to win their fifth Monte-Carlo crown.
Cabal and Farah are chasing their first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown and go on to face Henri Kontinen and John Peers, who knocked out No. 1 seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau 6-2, 6-3 in just under an hour.
“Once again today we played really solid,” said Peers. “It was great to continue that performance after yesterday’s win. Henri and I are combining really well now and we are both feeling very comfortable on court. Tomorrow will be another challenge for us and we will need to continue to play at this level.”
Second seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo reached the quarter-finals with a 7-6(4), 6-2 victory over David Marrero and Benoit Paire. Last year’s Roland Garros champions are chasing their first title of the season together.
“We are very happy to start playing good tournaments,” said Melo. “Today we played a really good match from the first point. We could play as we want to play, this is very important. We hope to keep doing the same, playing well like we did in the first match. I think we have a chance to go deeper in the tournament.”
Third seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut received a walkover into the quarter-finals after Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco withdrew, with Verdasco citing a calf injury. Herbert and Mahut are looking to win their third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown in succession after victories in Indian Wells and Miami. They face Dominic Inglot and Andy Murray on Friday.
Players and coaches put on entertaining show at Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel
Rafael Nadal took a break from watching Barcelona play Athletico Madrid to make a guest appearance in the annual Player Revue at the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel on Wednesday night.
Stars of the ATP World Tour set aside their inhibitions to entertain their friends, family and fellow players in a series of sketches, poking good-humoured fun at life on tour and showing off their singing and dancing talents.
The show was organised by Cecilia Ghe from the ATP and Anna Galoppo, with the assistance of David Ekerot, while Lukasz Kubot acted as compere for the evening alongside Cristina Cimino.
It was Kubot who called Nadal onto stage, along with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Jamie Murray, to take part in a special quiz.
Doubles World No. 1 Murray, who also hosted a special backstage video for ATP Uncovered with partner Bruno Soares, had earlier been the subject of the first sketch of the evening, in which Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau imagined how life may have changed in the Murray household now that Jamie is atop the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings. A very good-natured Judy Murray then joined the cast on stage.
There were two special guest stars as AS Monaco players, captain Jeremy Toulalan and Joao Moutinho, were invited onto stage, where they presented Nadal with a team shirt.
After his stunning victory earlier in the day over World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, Jiri Vesely was all smiles as he nervously made his acting debut in one of the later sketches in the evening.
Children’s party games were featured as #NextGen stars Alexander Zverev, Elias Ymer and Nick Kyrgios were depicted by Stephane Robert, Raven Klaasen and Tecau playing musical chairs in a jest competition for a wild card.
The show was brought to a thunderous close with a lively rendition of Uptown Funk, performed by Gilles Simon, Rohan Bopanna, Jeff Coetzee, Klaasen, Robert Farah and Robert.
The star of the show was arguably 11-year-old Rocco Piatti, son of Milos Raonic’s coach Riccardo Piatti, who enthusiastically assisted in a number of the performances. His supporting cast included Simon, Nadal, Tsonga, Jamie Murray, Soares, Rojer, Tecau, Farah, Juan Sebastian Cabal, Jack Reader, Bopanna, Coetzee, Klaasen, Robert, Vesely, Rajeev Ram, Andrey Kuznetsov, Teymuraz Gabashvili and Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Federer goes on to face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Roger Federer may have been off tour for two months, but the Swiss is showing no signs of rust at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, where he is through to the quarter-finals after defeating Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday.
“As the match progressed, I felt better and better,” Federer said. “Once I made the break, I was able to relax a little more. I’m happy with what I did. He’s a good player.”
The third-seeded Federer swept past Bautista Agut in 69 minutes, winning 73 per cent of his service points and breaking serve three times. He improved to a 5-0 head-to-head record over Bautista Agut, who has made a strong start in 2016, compiling a 20-7 mark and winning titles in Auckland (d. Sock) and Sofia (d. Troicki).
“As long as I can go into a match feeling alright, then during the match I’m not thinking about it,” said Federer of his recovery from knee surgery. “I’m getting closer to the peak in the sense of maximum movement against the best players on a tough surface.
“I’ll be resting for the next couple of weeks anyway, so even if I get a setback for a couple of days, I can take as much time as I need. I feel like I’m in a great place right now.”
The 34-year-old Federer returned to action at the Monte-Carlo Country Club after being sidelined since the Australian Open, first with a torn meniscus in his left knee that required arthroscopic surgery, then illness in Miami. The Basel native beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in straight sets in his opening match and now goes on to face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Eighth seed Tsonga won an all-French clash with Lucas Pouille in the last match of the day, beating the wild card 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 35 minutes. In the pair’s first tour-level meeting, Tsonga won 72 per cent of his service points and converted two of his nine break points.
Tsonga trails Federer 5-11 in the FedEx ATP Head2Head, but did beat the Swiss in their last meeting two years ago in the Toronto final. They also met in the Monte-Carlo quarter-finals in 2014, with Federer winning that contest in three sets.
Federer is a four-time finalist in Monte-Carlo and is looking to add the elusive crown to his collection of 24 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophies. The right-hander reached three straight finals from 2006-08, losing to Rafael Nadal, and lost out to countryman Stan Wawrinka in the 2014 title match.
Gael Monfils downed Jiri Vesely 6-1, 6-2 in just 68 minutes, one day after the 22-year-old Vesely had recorded the biggest win of his career by stunning World No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic.
“I played a good match,” said Monfils. “I was broken in the first game. He made good drop shots. He imposed a strange rhythm. That made me more tense. I didn’t expect drop shots that early in the match.
“But I was lucky to break him back immediately. Then we had some rallies. I was trying to hit to his forehand. He gave me many points on his forehand. He wasn’t at ease with that shot today.
“Of course, when you play a big match the day before, it’s always difficult to play again the next day. There are two solutions: either you play very well the next day or it’s very tough. I believe for him today it was not that good.”
Monfils has an 18-5 record in 2016, reaching the final in Rotterdam (l. to Klizan) as well as the quarter-finals at the Australian Open (l. to Raonic), Indian Wells (l. to Raonic) and Miami (l. to Nishikori).
The right-hander is bidding to reach the semi-finals at the Monte-Carlo Country Club for the second year in a row, after beating Federer en route to the final four last year (l. to Berdych). He goes on to face lucky loser Marcel Granollers.
Granollers has seized his opportunity after taking the place of the injured David Ferrer in the draw. The Spaniard battled past #NextGen star Alexander Zverev on Wednesday night and followed up with a 7-6(1), 6-4 victory over 11th seed David Goffin.
The 30-year-old Granollers is through to his first Masters 1000 quarter-final since Rome 2013 (l. to Paire). The right-hander has a 3-1 head-to-head record over Monfils, whom he has beaten in their past three meetings.