By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, April 17, 2015
Gael Monfils shredded Grigor Dimitrov, 6-1, 6-3, to advance to his first Monte-Carlo semifinal where he will face Tomas Berdych for a spot in the final.
Photo credit: Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters Facebook
Gael Monfils has a well-earned reputation as one of the most exciting movers on the ATP World Tour.
Monfils made sure it was moving day in Monte Carlo.
The elastic Monfils spent much of today's quarterfinal giving Grigor Dimitrov the runaround.
Video: Dimitrov Slips, Slides and Sparkles
The French wild card pushed Dimitrov into near-constant pursuit and never let him close the gap. Monfils shredded Dimitrov, 6-1, 6-3, in a 58-minute dissection to advance to the Monte-Carlo semifinals for the first time in nine appearances.
It is Monfils' first Masters 1000 semifinal appearance since he burst into the Paris Indoors final five years ago, bowing to Sweden's Robin Soderling.
Monfils will take on nemesis Tomas Berdych for a spot in Sunday's final. The sixth-seeded Czech held a 5-2 lead over Milos Raonic when the fourth-seeded Canadian retired with a foot injury.
Dimitrov did not drop serve in dismissing defending champion Stan Wawrinka, 6-1, 6-2, yesterday. But he struggled to defend his serve and one-handed backhand against the unrelenting baseline game of the lanky man in the funky green Asics threads.
Monfils broke three times in the opening set. He put a low pass at Dimitrov's feet and when the Bulgarian pushed a half-volley into net, Monfils had the opening set in a mere 24 minutes.
Tormenting Dimitrov's one-handed backhand with his heavy topspin — the same tactic he used sweeping world No. 2 Roger Federer yesterday — Monfils befuddled the Bulgarian. Dimitrov spent some time between points casting concerned glances up at his father in the stands. But had no answers for the former Roland Garros semifinalist.
In the second set, Monfils showed the magic that makes him one of the game's most entertaining players. Hitting a flurry of forehands, each struck with a different degree of spin and sent into increasingly sharper angles he sent Dimitrov scurrying from side to side, using an acute short-angled to hold for 2-1.
It's the type of tennis you long to see from Monfils, who sometimes resorts to his default defensive mode, dropping several feet back behind the baseline and chasing everything down. Not today. Monfils played the angles shrewdly, varied the depth of his drives and picked the right times to slash flat strikes down the line.
That display of forehand creativity drained Dimitrov. He double faulted to face break point in the following game then slapped a forehand long as Monfils broke for 3-1.
The flatter-hitting Berdych has beaten Monfils in five of six meetings, including straight-sets wins in Rotterdam and Miami earlier this year. Monfils' lone victory over the Czech came in the opening round of the 2013 Roland Garros when he scored a 7-6(8), 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-7(4), 7-5 triumph.