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.
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On Sunday, Djokovic will try for his third U.S. Open championship and 13th major trophy overall, facing No. 3 Stan Wawrinka or No. 6 Kei Nishikori.
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.
Wawrinka recovered from a slow start to secure a 4-6 7-5 6-4 6-2 triumph against the Japanese sixth seed Nishikori in NY.
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. “I have nothing personal to him, so I’m very sad to hear that”, Monfils said. Djokovic had won the first two sets 6-3, 6-2. “That should be on my side. luckily, I managed to get it back”.
In what was one of the more weird encounters to unfold on a grand slam court, Monfils was showered with boos one set and cheers the next before exiting Arthur Stadium to a mixture of both.
He’s fought off all comers, and just when it looks like his days of dominating are numbered, Djokovic fortifies his lead at No. 1.
Djokovic rips his shirt during his semifinal match against Gael Monfils at the U.S. Open.
Serving for the set, Monfils was down triple break point yet roared back to reel off five straight points snatching the game and a set with a screaming backhand victor.
Monfils said his tactics were a deliberate attempt “to get inside his head”. He will now meet World No. 1 and top seed Novak Djokovic.
A brief wobble from the Serb gave Monfils hope but when Djokovic wrapped up the opener there only looked like being one victor but Monfils somehow conjured up the third set from 2-0 down by winning six of seven games – Djokovic’s first dropped set since the opening round.
“He’s better player than me, definitely”, said Monfils who has yet to drop a set but hasn’t faced a seeded player. “I do sincerely hope all you guys enjoyed our battle today”.
After Djokovic, who needed multiple visits from the trainer throughout the match to work on both of his shoulders, lost that third set, he literally tore his white polo shirt off his body in frustration over the way he’d let the set slip away from him.
Novak Djokovic, rear, of Serbia, is congratulated by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, of France, after Tsonga retired from the match in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016, in NY.
Wawrinka is trying to win his third Grand Slam title and match Murray, the Big Four’s weakest link.
In the semi-finals played under tough humid conditions, Djokovic defeated Frenchman Gael Monfils, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 to reach his seventh final at the event, while Wawrinka beat Kei Nishikori, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 to enter the US Open final for the first time. After two hours and 32 minutes that seemed twice that long, the victor was nursing two sore shoulders, which might yet hobble him on Sunday, and a brain that surely was hurting as much.
The top seed reeled off another three games in succession to stand on the brink of a first set in under 25 minutes, but somehow Monfils hauled himself back into the match.
He broke Wawrinka again to open the second, but the Swiss was gradually beginning to find his range and regained the break. The most recent match, at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Canada, was won by Nishikori in straight sets.
Monfils took a wondrous point from a high-grade rally to break for 2-2 with a hunted-down cross-court backhand in the third, and the gathering warmed to him once again.
“What he’s doing is awesome”, said Monfils, who has won all 15 sets he’s played at Flushing Meadows this year.
“I tried to get inside Novak’s head”, said Monfils.
Kerber is the first woman from Germany to win the U.S. Open – and the first to get to No. 1 – since her idol and mentor, Steffi Graf, who got in touch via text message before the final. “And the only reason I say bordering is because it’s working”.
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Nishikori was the runner-up at Flushing Meadows in 2014.
