Monfils Boosts London Status, Gains Rematch Against Sinner

Gael Monfils will get his rematch with #NextGenATP Italian Jannik Sinner. The Frenchman, who’s in contention for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, rallied to beat Austrian wild card Dennis Novak 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 on Wednesday at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

Monfils hit 13 aces and converted all three break points. “There were some issues and I was getting very frustrated. I was battling with my body, my mind and obviously against the opponent. I think experience won [the match] for me,” Monfils said. “I think his level dropped a bit at 6-5 in the second set and he was a bit tense in the third set, so I tried to put the ball in and that was it.”

Monfils will next face the 18-year-old Sinner, who continued his impressive run by beating German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber on Tuesday. Sinner beat Monfils last week en route to the semi-finals of the European Open in Antwerp (l. to Wawrinka). The Italian became the youngest ATP Tour semi-finalist since Borna Coric at the 2014 Swiss Indoors Basel.

Monfils added 45 points to his ATP Race To London tally with the first-round win and moved into 12^th place in the Race, passing Japan’s Kei Nishikori. Monfils, with 2,215 points, trails Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, who holds the eighth and final qualification spot (2,525 points), by 310 points. Two spots still remain for the season finale, to be held 10-17 November at The O2 in London.