Monfils Surges Into US Open QFs
Monfils Surges Into US Open QFs
Frenchman yet to drop a set
Gael Monfils booked his spot in the US Open quarter-finals for the third time after dismissing Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 on Sunday at Flushing Meadows.
The Frenchman is in keen contention to qualify for the year-end Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 for the first time. Monfils is currently eighth in the Emirates ATP Race To London and boosted his bid with his fourth straight-sets win of the tournament in New York.
Watch: Improved Monfils In London Contention
The 30-year-old Monfils also reached the last eight at the US Open in 2010 (l. to Djokovic) and 2014 (l. to Federer) and goes on to face either Rafael Nadal or Lucas Pouille. The Frenchman was a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open in January (l. to Raonic) and is bidding to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final since 2008 Roland Garros (l. to Federer).
Playing Baghdatis for the fourth time, Monfils improved to a 3-1 lead in their FedEx ATP Head2Head as he prevailed in just under two hours. The 10th-seeded Frenchman converted seven of his 11 break points and benefitted from 43 unforced errors from Baghdatis’ racquet as the Cypriot’s run came to an end.
“It’s always a pleasure to play against Marcos and you know you always have to play your best,” Monfils said in his on-court interview. “I think I had to be very consistent with my serve because he’s a pretty good returner. I was good on my forehand today and I was very fast on the baseline. Everything was good today.”
The 31-year-old Baghdatis posted his best Grand Slam result in seven years after reaching the fourth round of a major for the first time since the 2009 Australian Open. Baghdatis was runner-up in Melbourne in 2006 (l. to Federer).