Monfils In Dominant Form, Through To QF
Monfils In Dominant Form, Through To QF
Composed. Dominant. Efficient. Hardly a trio of words you’d use to describe Gael Monfils during his entire career, but words that do well to define the Frenchman’s first four matches at the US Open.
The 32-year-old Monfils made his ninth Grand Slam quarter-final and first since the 2016 US Open on Monday, ending the best Slam run yet for Spain’s Pablo Andujar 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in less than 90 minutes.
“Everything I did tonight was working. I think my game plan was good. I was moving good. I hit big the balls. I was in the game plan,” Monfils said.
The Frenchman dominated every aspect of the fourth-round encounter, never enduring a real challenge from the 33-year-old Andujar, who entered the US Open with a 32-79 career record on hard courts and was bidding to become the oldest player in the Open Era to reach his first Grand Slam men’s singles quarter-final.
“I have always believed that my game could fit [on a hard court], but it’s also true that I don’t play a lot on hard court. I mostly base my calendar on clay-court tournaments,” Andujar said.
Monfils converted six of 10 break points and never faced a break point on his serve. The Frenchman hit 34 winners to only six from Andujar and won 81 per cent of his second-serve points, while winning 59 per cent of those from the Spaniard. “When everything works, not much to say about it,” Monfils said.
He will face Italy’s Matteo Berrettini for a place in the US Open semi-finals, which would be Monfils’ third last-four showing at a Slam. Berrettini beat Russian Andrey Rublev 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(6).
“He’s got a big serve. Crushes the forehand. He’s a great athlete. Great mover for his height. Tough one, someone who hits big from the back. Uses his serve and his forehand,” Monfils said.
Monfils made the semi-finals at the 2008 Roland Garros and the 2016 US Open. “I play great tennis here, very great tennis. Always say that I love the atmosphere. I love the energy. The energy is very important… Definitely those stadiums here in New York are [some] of the best for my game and for my personality. I feel very comfortable, so I think that’s why I always play great tennis here,” he said.
