Lucas Pouille was not prepared to say his pulsating four hour, fourth-round upset of 14-time grand slam victor Rafa Nadal at the U.S. Open on Sunday was a career changing moment.
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But that changed against 22-year-old Frenchman Pouille, who took a dramatic fourth-round match 6-1 2-6 6-4 3-6 7-6 (8-6) at Flushing Meadows.
The defeat leaves Nadal forced out of the French Open third round with a wrist injury that also saw him miss Wimbledon without at least one Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance for the first time since he was a teenaged tour newcomer in 2004.
I couldn’t dream better than this.I learned that it’s never over until the last point.I was a break down in the fifth, I came back and led 6-3 in the tiebreak and he came back.
Tenth-seeded Gael Monfils continued his impressive run at the U.S. Open by breezing past French countryman Lucas Pouille 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinals in NY on Tuesday.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat American Jack Sock in four sets to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the second straight year. Pouille pulled off a victor down the line the next point to seal victory. It’s OK. I did my best today.
Nadal won the US Open in 2010 and 2013 among the 14 Grand Slam single titles – mainly in Paris – in his career.
“As you are approaching the second week of a grand slam you want to have match play and you want to have time spent on the center court before you face one of the top players”, said the Serbian.
When he reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon this year, many tipped the 22-year-old Lucas Pouille as a star of the future.
“I am close to being 100% again and I believe I can have a couple more good years”, said Nadal whose most recent Grand Slam title came with his ninth French Open in 2014.
“I have been saying I think to the French press that I could serve faster”.
Gael Monfils, of France, watches the flight of the ball during his match with Marcos Baghdatis, of Cyprus, during the fourth round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016, in NY.
Djokovic needed treatment on his arm but was still too good for Briton Kyle Edmund with a straight-sets victory. “I know what’s going on”. Pouille will look to build off his impressive win over Nadal while Monfils will look to show why he is the 12th ranked player in the world.
Italian seventh seed and 2015 runner-up Roberta Vinci reached the quarter-finals for the fourth time with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 win over Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine.
On Sunday, Wozniacki made only seven unforced errors, 26 fewer than Keys.
Third-seeded Stan Wawrinka, sixth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan, eighth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem and former champion Juan Martin del Potro will also battle for quarter-final berths.
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Monfils has been advancing this far at the Grand Slams for more than eight years, though he’s still better known for his flair for creative shot-making than his results.
