FRIDAY’S WEATHER Mix of sun and clouds, hot and humid. The Frenchman’s soft-balling tactics were clear but his intensity and focus just weren’t there and the set looked all but over very quickly as the unforced errors started to rack up.
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Gael Monfils rejected accusations he failed to try his hardest against Novak Djokovic after he was beaten in a controversial semi-final at the US Open.
Djokovic will take on either Swiss third seed Stan Wawrinka or sixth-seeded Japanese Kei Nishikori in Sunday’s final in his bid to become the first back-to-back victor at Flushing Meadows since Roger Federer won four straight from 2004.
Down a set and a break on Friday (September 9), the third-seeded Wawrinka took control to oust Kei Nishikori 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2. Make no mistake, though, Novak was nowhere near his level as well, and he looked as rusty as someone who has reached the final courtesy of 3 walkovers should.
The No. 4-seeded Murray and Soares, who won the Australian Open in January, are the first winners of multiple major men’s doubles titles in a season since Bob and Mike Bryan won three in 2013.
“First question is, like, ‘You’re not competing?'”.
“I’ve seen strategy changes”, ESPN analyst John McEnroe said on the broadcast, “but this tops everything”. Monfils held his serve easily in the next game to go from 0-5 to 3-5. But he started to find his form in a quarterfinal victory over 2009 U.S. Open champ Juan Martin del Potro. So he transformed back into his entertaining, athletic self.
Djokovic was the more energised, breaking for 3-1 in the fourth set before double-faulting for a sixth time to hand it straight back.
Explaining why he played in such a “crazy” way, Monfils said he was still trying to win, but in a different way.
The outcome was only briefly in the balance, though.
In a odd match that didn’t reach the heights expected of a grand slam semi, the world No. 1 eventually did enough to best the Frenchman in four sets 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-2 and book his place in the final where he’ll play either Stanislas Wawrinka or Kei Nishikori.
“I think I should not have allowed him to come back to the match after two sets to love up and 2-love in the third”, Djokovic said.
Never more so than on this muggy afternoon, with the temperature at 90 degrees and the humidity above 50 percent.
In a freakish first set, Djokovic raced to a 5-0 lead in just 15 minutes where his only challenge came from the stadium TV lights which he claimed were distracting. The Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd jeered him.
“I’m very sad to hear that”, Monfils told reporters after hearing of McEnroe’s criticism of him. Monfils, now 0-13 against Djokovic, spent most of his news conference defending his unusual approach and said he knew beforehand he might try it. During points, he hit slices or made halfhearted, half-swinging strokes, then occasionally walloped a 100 miles per hour passing shot. I think the crowd disliked his efforts towards the end of the second set.
Somehow, the tactic was effective for a bit. I was completely caught off guard when he just stood there and chipped the ball back and didn’t do much.
Miscue after miscue started coming from Djokovic, and Monfils won three games in a row, before eventually dropping a set for the first time all tournament. He was missing a lot the first set and also I was playing good tennis, but I think he made some changes and he was starting to play better. But I guess I’m working, I’m learning.
“I want to (say) to John that I’m more than happy to talk with him”, added the Frenchman.
However, he was unable to replicate that excellent performance against Wawrinka, who will now face Novak Djokovic in the final.
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Djokovic entered Friday having enjoyed the easiest path to a major semifinal in the almost half-century of the Open era: Three of his first five foes pulled out of because of injuries.
