Fireworks exploded from the top of the stadium, with Djokovic thrusting his arms out from his chest to give the fans his love after Monfils’s final shot went well wide.
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Monfils and Raonic had solid back-and-forths through both sets, with both using big serves to pin each other to the baseline.
Monfils was particularly successful drawing Raonic to the net then using a slicing backhand to put the ball behind him.
The world No. 6 had his back against the wall in the first set but came through to win 7-6(6), 6-1 in 89 minutes to move within one win of his first Masters title. The Frenchman won the first point, and the second-on a Djokovic double fault.
Djokovic mixed 12 winners with 16 unforced errors, dominating what was an entertaining match to reach the Rogers Cup final for a fifth time. Monfils was serving at only 47% and he was in danger every time he would miss the first serve, being exposed to Novak’s great return, and he failed to bring his best tennis in the most important points, losing his serve 4 times from 5 chances that Novak created.
Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, reaches for a shot from Gael Monfils, of France, during a semifinal at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament, Saturday, Jully 30, 2016, in Toronto.
It was a play taken out of Tomas Berdych’s playbook from the night before in his meltdown match against Djokovic.
Djokovic is 9-2 against Nishikori and has won their last eight meetings, including the hard-court final in Miami earlier this year.
Japan’s Kei Nishikori has booked one of the spots in Sunday’s Rogers Cup final in Toronto.
“I started really well from the first game”, said Wawrinka, a two-times grand slam champion who is seeking his 15th ATP World Tour title. After the match, Monfils said the long season was catching up with him.
Monfils had played a grueling, three-set match in the afternoon heat Thursday, while Raonic dispatched Jared Donaldson in just 70 minutes. Monfils eliminated Canadian Milos Raonic the night before and looked fresh despite his busy recent schedule, which included winning the biggest title of his career less than a week ago in Washington.
“I didn’t do it in the second set, and beginning of the third set I didn’t do it. So I took a little bit more risk and tried to be more aggressive and hit and come in sometimes”, he told atpworldtour.com.
“I was very fortunate to get the first set”, Djokovic said in a televised on-court interview.
The No. 2 and No. 3 seeds reacquaint themselves for the first time in eighteen months as Wawrinka and Nishikori battle for a place in the Canada Masters final on Sunday. “So hopefully I can have a good day tomorrow”. There’s really not much more you can say about Djokovic that hasn’t been said before, as he continues to play at an elite level offensively and defensively.
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“I’m very pleased with how I played”.
