The French player had lost all 12 career meetings with Djokovic prior to Friday and after he slipped 5-0 down in the first set, he slammed on the brakes in a desperate effort to turn the tide. But after rain forced the roof to shut midway through the third set Friday, it was Wawrinka who would go on to break in the final game – just as he did in the second set.
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Nishikori, coming off his own five-set quarter-final triumph over world number two Andy Murray, seized the initiative with a near flawless first set.
The top seed, however, overcame his opponent’s antics to win 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-2 and now stands one win away from a 13th major title.
Nishikori was the runner-up at Flushing Meadows in 2014.
Sliding into a flicked forehand, Djokovic curled another pass for double break point.
Any thoughts of a comeback, however, were quickly stifled as Djokovic broke for 3-2 and then again to secure victory as the tournament’s most weird contest was finally brought to an end.
What some saw as tanking, Monfils described as tactics, a well thought out Plan B employed when it became clear a more traditional Plan A approach was not working. Djokovic edged out to a 3-1 lead.
“Kei is a tough player and he played well from the beginning”, said Wawrinka.
Both Monfils and Djokovic cramped significantly in the fourth set and called for visits from the ATP trainer amid the hot and humid conditions. “Yes, I’m competing”, Monfils said, cursing for emphasis.
“I create clothes. I create, I don’t know, dance move”.
“Gael is one of the best athletes on the tour, very flexible”, Djokovic told the crowd of almost 23,000. “Gael is very entertaining to watch, a very charismatic guy”. He appeared to be acting like he was not interested, and suddenly whip big shots.
Most players try to lift their level against champions. “I got a little bit of my instinct and flair”.
Djokovic will take the Swiss third seed Stan Wawrinka, who outslugged the Japanese sixth seed Kei Nishikori 4-6 7-5 6-4 6-2 in energy-sapping humidity.
Serbian world No. 1 Novak Djokovic advanced to the U.S. Open final with a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory Friday over Frenchman Gael Monfils in a match that featured occasionally freakish shifts in momentum and tactics.
On court after the match, Djokovic dodged questions about his physical issues but he did explain why, after losing the third set, he ripped open his shirt, in one of the contest’s many mysterious moments.
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.
Monfils’ tactics, while bold, ultimately proved unsuccessful as Djokovic’s skill and familiarity with the Frenchman’s playing style won out.
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Djokovic had three set points while serving at 5-1, 40-love, and Monfils transitioned into something that at first blush appeared to be “tanking” losing on objective, for who knows what reason but which he explained afterward was the tennis equivalent of Muhammad Ali’s boxing “rope-a-dope”, absorbing someone else’s best shots and pretending to not be interested in attacking.
