Nadal, who won in Monaco for eight straight time from 2005-2012, beat the 13th seed Monfils 7-5, 5-7, 6-0 in his 100th career final.
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Even king of clay Rafael Nadal was struggling on Sunday to comprehend the full significance of his ninth title from ten finals at the Monte Carlo Masters. Nadal was promptly broken by Murray two straight times to close out the opening set of their Monte-Carlo Semis match.
It seems that Monte Carlo is a mythical place for eight time champion Rafael Nadal as he sends world no. 2 Andre Murray to his third Monte-Carlo Semis exit. “See you next year”. The Scot earned a break point in Nadal’s first service game and he continued to ask questions of the Spaniard with his strong returning game as he took a grip on the first set, going 4-2 up.
He showed he had plenty in reserve, breaking twice to lead the second set only to be pegged back by Nadal. Monfils came to this final in great form and without lost set, and he had good tactics to challenge Rafa, staying in rallies long enough to create the opportunity for the attack and changing of rhythm. I played a good match today.
Nadal dropped his serve five times against the 13th-seeded Monfils in a topsy-turvy encounter in which they conceded 34 break-point chances between them. It is not to say that the result would be different had Djokovic faced Nadal in the final round, but there is no denying the talent and domination the Serb has been imposing in the past two seasons.
“It has been a very important week for me”, said Nadal, having sealed his triumph in front of the watching Prince Albert II and his wife, Princess Charlene of Monaco. If I don’t do that, you know, then you lose anyway.
Nadal has waited two years to win a Masters title, and four years to get his Monte Carlo crown back, so losing on Sunday would be a particularly bitter blow.
However, the quality of the Frenchman’s ball striking was exquisite as he took the match to Nadal in a first set that lasted 75 minutes. I feel much better than the year before.
Monfils fell to 0-3 in Masters-level finals, 0-2 in finals in 2016, and 5-19 in career finals.
The Spaniard, the greatest ever clay court player, finally found his groove in the second set.
He sank to his knees after sealing victory with a brilliant forehand victor, tilting his head back, closing his eyes to savor his biggest tournament win since the French Open in June, 2014 and his first at a Masters event since Madrid a few weeks before that.
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Meanwhile, Laura Robson recorded her best victory since wrist surgery two years ago in qualifying for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
