By Erik Gudris | Sunday, September 4, 2016
Gael Monfils defeated Marcos Baghdatis in an entertaining straights sets battle to reach the US Open quarterfinals.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
When you put crowd faves Gael Monfils and Marcos Baghdatis on the same court, you pretty much expect an entertaining show and some unexpected moments. Like this one when Monfils stopped to tie his shoes mid-way through a point.
The US Open third round encounter between the 10th seeded Frenchman and Baghdatis provided everyone on Grandstand with quite a show. But it was Monfils who eventually walked away with the straight sets win.
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Monfils often proved too quick for his opponent from the baseline and up at net. After taking the first set 6-3, Monfils took advantage of more errors coming off of Baghdatis’ racquet in the second set. Soon, Monfils enjoyed a two sets to love lead.
Some odd controversy occurred during the changeover as Baghdatis pulled out his smartphone to check the time. Chair umpire Alison Hughes cited Baghdatis with a code violation and a warning for doing so.
Monfils took a slip on court early in the third set but gave a thumbs-up he was ok.
That tumble distracted Monfils long enough that he dropped serve giving Baghdatis a 2-0 lead. But Baghdatis, growing more frustrated that he couldn’t make inroads in Monfils’ game, soon surrendered the break back.
Monfils delighted the crowd again a few games later by pulling off this successfull behind the back shot.
In the end, Monfils proved too steady down the stretch. In the final game, Monfils ripped a huge forehand winner thus setting up match point. Baghdatis sent a backhand wide on match point giving Monfils the 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 win.
“He’s a really good friend. We’ve had many battles in juniors and so many in senior tour. It’s always a pleasure to play against him,” Monfils said about facing Baghdatis just after the win. “I had to be very consistent with my serve. And I was very fast on the baseline so everything was fine today.”
Monfils continues to enjoy a summer resurgence since winning his biggest title in D.C. earlier this summer. The Frenchman has yet to drop a set in New York.
He will next face the winner of the match between Rafael Nadal and Lucas Pouille.