Monfils into US Open quarter-finals
Monday, 6 September 2010 22:48Gael Monfils reached the quarter-finals of the US Open for the first time in his career with victory over fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet at Flushing Meadows.
Monfils won 6-4 7-5 7-5 in two hours and 35 minutes, but Gasquet must have been wondering how he failed to take the match into at least a fourth set.
Gasquet served for the third set at 5-3 only to lose his serve, his racket then feeling the brunt of his anger at the change of ends as he kicked it down the court.
The unseeded 24-year-old then held two set points on Monfils' serve in the next game but was unable to take advantage, and this time Monfils made him pay.
The 17th seed immediately broke for a 6-5 lead and served out for the match, clinching the win with his 14th ace.
'It's not that easy to play when we are very good friends,' Monfils said.
'He played very good today. I was a little better than him but I hope we will have more matches like this.
'For me it's amazing to be in the quarter-finals. I love playing here, I feel comfortable and I hope I can win here one day maybe.'
Monfils will play Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic who successfully countered big-hitting American Mardy Fish's service game.
Djokovic, who survived a five-set struggle in the first round, shifted into top gear for his best performance of the tournament to claim a 6-3 6-4 6-1 victory over the 19th seed.
The 23-year-old Serb, a semi-finalist at the US Open in the past two years and runner-up in 2007, unleashed some formidable returns and used his superior quickness and shot-making skills to turn the fourth-round test into a rout.
