They seemed to be on course for a third meeting in the final at Flushing Meadows, but Pliskova eliminated Williams in the semifinals, after beating her sister, Venus, in the fourth round. There is a reason he’s been top five for a long time now.
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It also has the potential to be the match of the tournament if both players are fit and the feeling I’ve had with Monfils all summer has been one of “now or never” for the mercurial Lamonf. “So I went through it all”.
One may wonder, now, however, whether Djokovic will be able to go the extra mile in the finals given Wawrinka’s increasingly quick form and his own injuries and troubles in 2016.
Djokovic will next face No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, who made his way into the final later Friday night by defeating No. 6 Kei Nishikori 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2.
The world number one will now face either Stan Wawrinka of Kei Nishikori in Sunday’s final.
However, an error from Monfils and a big serve from Djokovic saved both break points and halted the comeback as the defending champion took the first set 6-3.
Monfils was noticeably lethargic and began loosely patting balls back into play as if entirely disinterested in making a comeback.
The Serb was forced to have treatment on both shoulders, as both players had to deal with the sweltering conditions in NY.
The big question: Can someone manage to complete a full match against Djokovic in NY? “I do sincerely hope all you guys enjoyed our battle today”.
“[Expletive] yes, I’m competing. I try my best”. The guy is too good. The No.1 and No.3 seeds got past their respective opponents with a bit of work to make it to the summit clash of the US Open 2016.
“As I always say, the change is guts… I think he’s a great champion”. “You know, it was a great strategy, I think”.
The No. 10-seeded Frenchman added that he is “more than happy to talk” with McEnroe, and apologized if he came across as unprofessional.
Djokovic admitted there were stretches in which Monfils’ unconventional approach got on his nerves and threw him off his game.
He was even forced to save break points at 5-3. He served 11 aces and 11 double faults. Monfils looked as if he could barely bother to be on court, started soft-balling, a la Arthur Ashe v Jimmy Connors in the 1975 Wimbledon final. In the victory, Wawrinka won 76 percent of his first serve points and 50 percent of his second serve points. Nope. In a blink, Monfils suddenly came to life, playing his athletic best.
After saving a bevy of break points, he broke in the 12th game to level the match at two sets apiece. But Monfils held there to 5-1, then transitioned into what either appeared to be an attempt to “tank” in other words, lose on goal, for who knows what reason or the tennis equivalent of a “rope-a-dope”, in which he wanted to appear not to be interested in defending against Djokovic but then would whip a big shot of his own. A back and forth net exchange between the pair ended as Monfils hit a lob that Djokovic managed to push back with a behind the back overhead smash, but the smash wasn’t strong enough and Monfils ripped a backhand down the line that caught the net and fortunately for him, still landed over the other side of the court to finally get the opening hold of the set.
(3), 6-4 to become the only Spanish woman to capture a U.S. Open singles title. “We can, you know – it’s not only one way to play tennis”. “He’s very entertaining to watch”.
“There’s not only one way to play tennis”.
“It’s part of the sport”.
“If at the end I had the mic, I would say to the audience, ‘Stop saying that I’m unprofessional, ‘” Monfils said. Wawrinka said. “I’m 31 years old”.
However, it was a flickering screen in Arthur Ashe that caused him the most grief early on as he nearly surrendered a 5-0 lead in the opening set.
“When I tried to play “original” tennis, he kills me”.
The strategy worked briefly.
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“What he’s doing is incredible”, said Monfils, who has won all 15 sets he’s played at Flushing Meadows this year.
