In a match of high drama and controversy, Monfils was jeered for an apparent lack of effort as he threatened to capitulate in straight sets.
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Though Djokovic was in cruise control through the first two sets, the journey to his 19th Grand Slam final in his last 25 majors became jarring.
“That’s when I’m happy with myself and proud of myself”, Wawrinka said, “when I stay strong with what I want to do”.
That premeditated “great strategy” of hoping to lull the No. 1 seed and defending champion into complacency and mistakes, as Monfils described it later, worked briefly, yet did not prevent a two-set deficit. So I’m very sad to hear that.
Monfils’ response to that criticism, and to questions about his freakish tactics during the match, were honest, refreshing and at times, even sad.
“At the end, that’s why I think it was necessary, and I nearly get back to the first set”. I try my best.
“The first question is like you’re not competing”, Monfils said. I had to wait, fight, try to make him more uncomfortable.
He’s not the first player to walk off the court after playing Novak Djokovic to come to the conclusion that the Serb is just too good. So Monfils stuck with it. Monfils had fallen behind 5-0 after 16 minutes, playing his normal power game, notching four double faults and eight unforced errors.
Monfils – now 0-13 against Djokovic – felt he needed to do something different at 0-5. I just have to change.
“That’s a little bit tough because for sure people are not really ready to see that”.
Asked if Monfils got inside his head, Djokovic replied: “Well, that one or two games I allowed, yeah”.
McEnroe was so offended, he kept telling viewers they should not cheer for Monfils even if he made a big push. But Monfils held there to 5-1, then transitioned into what either appeared to be an attempt to “tank” – in other words, lose on objective, 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.
“You give him very slow ball”. He was coming at the net. I pass him. Was great strategy. It’s not only one way to play tennis.
Monfils denied any of it had to do with not competing hard.
“If I have a mic I would say to the audience stop saying that, I’m unprofessional”.
“The way I bounce back from that is I take another T-shirt from my bag and I change then I feel better”.
“Sorry if it wasn’t academic, but in the end, you change with what you’ve got”.
The heat was clearly having an impact on the match, and after losing the third set, a visibly frustrated Djokovic responded by ripping open his shirt. Wawrinka saved 11 of 15 break points and regrouped after his 3-0 lead in the fourth set was cut to 3-2 by the charging, scrambling Nishikori.
Down 2-5, Djokovic took massage treatment on his left shoulder during the changeover then staved off a set point in unusual four drop shot game. Djokovic got back his crispness in the fourth set and served out the match at love.
“Well, it was a odd match”, said Djokovic, who will face No. 3 Stan Wawrinka in Sunday’s final, “as it always is, I guess, when you play Gael, who is a very unpredictable player”. The Serbian said “maybe behaving a little bit – for some terms and judgements – unacceptable”. “Any girl would like that, I guess”.
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But Monfils is nothing if not unpredictable and the man who squandered a two-sets-to-love lead and two match points against Roger Federer at the 2014 US Open suddenly found the on-switch. “Just gets much better”.
