The other women’s quarterfinal features two top-10 players: second-seeded Angelique Kerber, this year’s Australian Open champ, and No. 7 Roberta Vinci, last year’s U.S. Open runner-up.
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In the final-set tiebreak, Pouille held a seemingly insurmountable 6-3 lead, with three match points on his racket.
As a result, only two of the proverbial “Big Four” are still lasting in Flushing Meadows.
With Roger Federer missing the tournament because of a knee injury, Nadal missed an opportunity to come to within two majors of Federer’s all-time record of 17 championships. Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray remain alive and well.
A win in the semifinals would put Monfils into the finals of a Grand Slam singles event for the first time.
But after prevailing in a fifth set tie-break, the engaging Frenchman was also reluctant to say it was not the launchpad that would send him into another tennis orbit. He has reached at least the quarterfinals at 29 of the past 30 Grand Slam tournaments – the exception was his loss in the third round of Wimbledon in June against Sam Querrey. And I think, as I said after Nadal’s match, he’s in very good form.
But nerves also got to Nadal, who netted a routine forehand to give Pouille one final match point, which he clinched with a forehand blast down-the-line from behind the baseline. “I couldn’t believe he would miss it”, Pouille said of a key shot in the final set tiebreaker. “So I was ready for it”, said the Frenchman. “He started so strong”.
“I know him quite a bit”, Monfils said.
Gael Monfils has reached the US Open semi-final after ending the impressive run of his compatriot Lucas Pouille.
Even with the extra rest, however, he required on-court treatment on his right arm – the same one he had treated during his scrappy first-round victory over Jerzy Janowicz. But the entertaining Monfils has been playing the best tennis of his career lately, winning all 15 sets he’s played during this tournament.
This was Pouille’s third career victory in a five-setter; all have come in his past three matches.
In the serving segment, Monfils was clearly in front, with 13 aces and just 2 doubles faults, while Pouille in some way invalidated his 5 aces with 6 double faults.
“He’s in a good position”, Nadal concluded. “Of course, this Grand Slam is very unique for me: I never experienced something like this – to have three retirements on the road to the semifinals”. But everybody wants to do it.
“I had the chance to practice with Roger [Federer] and it was unbelievable”.
Nadal and Federer may, in fact, get back to their title-winning ways at majors at some point; but that remains to be seen. For that, Nadal supporters can blame Pouille.
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NEW YORK-Lucas Pouille outlasted 14-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal in a five-set classic on Sunday to lead a trio of French men into the quarter-finals of the US Open.
