Monfils Fends Off Khachanov To Clinch Adelaide Title
Top seed Gael Monfils captured his 11th ATP Tour title Sunday, overcoming Karen Khachanov 6-4, 6-4 in the Adelaide International 1 final to begin his season in perfect fashion.
The Frenchman, who was competing in his first Australian tour-level championship match, played with flair and demonstrated great agility throughout against Khachanov, closing the net effectively and covering the court well to triumph after 80 minutes.
“I want to say thanks to my team,” Monfils said during the trophy ceremony. “We have had some tough moments, we lost a little bit of faith but we came back strong from July last year. It is amazing to play in front of you guys, to play in front of a full crowd with a good spirit and atmosphere, this is amazing.”
Monfils did not drop a set all week in Adelaide and now leads the Russian 1-0 in their ATP Head2Head series. With his victory, it is the World No. 21’s first tour-level title since February 2020 (Rotterdam).
“It is a great tournament,” Monfils added. “I have been training here since 2009. I know the place very well, I love Adelaide and am very happy to win the title here.”
In a tight first set, both players looked to dictate on their forehands and outmanoeuvre each other in front of a lively crowd in Adelaide. After fending off two break points at 2-2, Monfils, who hit 11 winners in the first set, found the decisive breakthrough in the 10th game when Khachanov fired a forehand long to move ahead.
Fuelled by momentum, Monfils remained strong on serve in the second set, winning 92 per cent (11/12) of points behind his first delivery in the set and broke Khachanov at 5-4 to seal his victory.
Second-seeded Russian Khachanov overcame Marin Cilic to reach the final in Adelaide and was aiming to win his first title since he clinched the crown at the Rolex Paris Masters in November 2018.