Monfils thrashes Nadal for all-French Qatar Open final
DOHA: The Qatari capital city of Doha will be lit up by French tennis fans on Saturday evening when Gael Monfils will take on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final of Qatar Open tennis tournament.
Both Frenchmen had the two best-ever tennis players in the semi-final encounters in shape of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal but while Tsonga got the lucky break against Federer, who withdrew with a back injury, Gael Monfils played the best match of his international tennis career against King Rafa and outplayed the Spanish giant in straight sets.
Monfils was stretched to the limits by Rafael Nadal in the second set where at one stage the Frenchman was trailing by 4-1 but he bounced back strongly enough to stop the Spaniard from obtaining any more points and sealed the victory by following his 6-3 victory in the first set with 6-4 win in the second.
Gael Monfils will face off with his fellow countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Qatar Open final on Saturday.
Rafael Nadal, who had an outright 8-1 record against Gael Monfils, failed to match the game he is renowned for as the 25-year-old Frenchman showed great hunger for victory, especially in the second set which went to the wire.
A smiling Monfils told reporters after the semi-final victory, “Against Rafa, you have to have a good (first serve) percentage. I was very fast on court and I think I hit a couple of powerful shots. I feel great.”
When asked about taking on his friend Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final, Gael Monfils said, “It’s always tough to play against Jo because he’s really powerful. It’s tough to manipulate him from the baseline.”
Gael Monfils. Courtesy: Getty Images
Rafael Nadal. Courtesy: AP PHOTO
Gael Monfils. Courtesy: AP PHOTO
Related posts:
