Facing an opponent who occasionally played as if he had somewhere better to be, Novak Djokovic reached his 21st Grand Slam final and seventh at the U.S. Open with a weird 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Gael Monfils on Friday.
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World number one and defending champion Djokovic prevailed 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in a freaky semi-final that saw 10th-seeded Monfils roundly booed and accused of not trying.
Stan Wawrinka went through to his 1st US Open final with a comprehensive 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 win over Japanese No.1 Kei Nishikori in the second semi-final of the US Open.
Added Monfils: “As I always say, the change [takes] guts”.
The asset to the sport, though is Djokovic, the champion who somehow was reduced to an afterthought even while winning a U.S. Open semifinal.
The shirt off his back: Even before Monfils walked off with the third set, Djokovic had torn his stylish white Uniqlo shirt out of frustration.
Monfils, and the furor surrounding him that was stoked by ESPN’s John McEnroe, will be in the spotlight for the short term.
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic (NOH’-vak JOH’-kuh-vich) has taken an easier-than-expected route to the U.S. Open finals, with three of his opponents either retiring or withdrawing because of injury.
It is Djokovic’s 21st career Grand Slam final, second in the Open Era to Roger Federer, who has contested 28 Grand Slam finals.
“I’m happy, it was an unbelievable atmosphere and to tell myself I’m going to be in the final is something insane”.
The Djokovic-Monfils encounter was notable for its sheer unpredictability.
Wawrinka looked slightly rattled, struggling to deal with the heat, and did not start the second set the way he would have wanted, with Nishikori breaking in the first game.
Win or lose, Djokovic will have secured his No. 1 ranking well into 2017 and cemented his standing as the best and most dominant player on the tour.
“That is when I put my game to be aggressive”.
Gael Monfils lost 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-2 against Novak Djokovic in the men’s singles semis.
“The first question is like you’re not competing”, Monfils said. “You know, it’s tough, because when he calls me unprofessional, he calls my coach unprofessional, calls my physio unprofessional, calls my physic – all my team, actually, unprofessional”.
The sliced and slow forehands and backhands from the Frenchman were clearly rattling Djokovic and Monfils ended up with two more break points that would get them back on serve.
In Sunday’s final, Djokovic will face No. 3 Wawrinka.
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.
“Definitely I try to get in his head”. “But it happens. It was just very uncharacteristic, or unusual, basically at the beginning of the first set to move around like that, and play like that”. “I mean, definitely I was a little bit exhausted, especially in the end”, he said.
“I am really excited, I want to enjoy the moment”, he said. “He was putting pressure on me, didn’t give me any time. Yes, I’m competing”, said Monfils, cursing for emphasis.
Hunching over between points, Monfils dodged a time violation warning from chair umpire Eva Asderaki Moore and denied three break points for the second straight game for 1-all in the fourth set.
With the crowd finally in it, Djokovic regrouped to take the match in four.
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“You can not play that well coming into a semifinal and put in an effort like that for two sets”, even with the stifling weather, former US Open finalist Greg Rusedski said on Eurosport.
