You can hardly blame them though, that’s just the way the sporting landscape is these days.
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Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, reacts after defeating Gael Monfils, of France, during the semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
Monfils – featuring in the semis of a major for just the second time – went down 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-2 to the world number one in NY. McEnroe slammed the 30-year-old’s commitment and accused him of “tanking” and being “unprofessional”.
Monfils at times seemed uncaring about the outcome of the 2 1/2-hour match, hitting slices or making truly half-hearted, half-swinging strokes.
Wawrinka was match point down against Britain’s Dan Evans in the third round in NY but a kind draw has allowed him to find his stride and he will be a risky opponent this weekend. Jeers and whistles rained down from the stands at Arthur Ashe Stadium as Monfils appeared to give up at times. It’s tough, because when he calls me unprofessional, he calls my coach unprofessional, calls my physio unprofessional – all my team, actually, unprofessional.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “First question is, like, ‘You’re not competing?’. If he said that you have to believe him, I guess”.
“As I always say, the change is guts…”
Gael Monfils to some is a quitter but to others the enigmatic Frenchman is a bold, unconventional thinker willing to try anything to get to his first grand slam final.
The American later added: “You can’t support that, I’m sorry”. Maybe Monfils got in Djokovic’s head, because miscue after miscue started coming from that side of the court. Definitely I try to get in his head, try to create something new for him. During points, Monfils would hit slices or make truly halfhearted, half-swinging strokes, then occasionally wallop a 100 miles per hour passing shot. “He was just too good”. “When the guy is too good, you need to change”.
The Women’s Singles Final between soon-to-be world number one Angelique Kerber and Karolina Pliskova will be played late tonight.
He stressed the point that just because his way of playing was different, it didn’t make it wrong.
“When you change, you change with what you got”, Monfils said.
“It was very quick to 5-0”. “More powerful tennis. And I stop moving a little bit”. I think it worked.
He is already the world’s No. 1 player with a spectacular skill set now unmatched in all of tennis.
Monfils finished with 11 double faults and 52 unforced errors. And then he comes to the net. It’s not only one way to play tennis.
Afterward, Monfils answered McEnroe’s charges.
Check out the transcript of his comments in the photos below.
Monfils’ unpredictable behavior, serial serve-and-volleys, stalling, inconsistent effort and variety of questionable tactics that even included a left-handed forehand, affected Djokovic’s concentration and allowed Monfils back into the match.
It looked lightweight but carried a mighty punch as the Frenchman saved four set points in the sixth and seventh games of the match.
“I know what to expect”, Djokovic said. The only reason I’m saying borderline is because it’s working.
“It was a great strategy, I think”.
“At the end, that’s why I think it was necessary, and I nearly get back to the first set”.
As we said, it was refreshingly honest stuff, and people took note.
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Blessed with a creative soul, Monfils is the tortured artist of tennis.
