By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, June 5, 2017
Facing acrobatic Frenchman Gael Monfils at Roland Garros represents a stress test even for the elite.
Rising to the challenge, Stan Wawrinka dispensed punishing strokes and an unwavering focus subduing Monfils and back pain, 7-5, 7-6 (7), 6-2, to score his eighth straight victory.
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Denying 11 of 13 break points, Wawrinka scored his ninth win in 10 matches with Frenchmen at Roland Garros.
Pointing to his temple in celebration of his 16th victory in his last 17 French Open matches, the 2015 champion said the match was a case of mind managing second-week stress.
“I think it was a little bit of everything,” Wawrinka told Tennis Channel’s Jon Wertheim afterward. “I hurt my back a little bit after the first game…
“At the end it’s how you accept the pain or accept the fight. Like last year’s US Open I had to accept the pain and keep fighting. I’m pleased to get through.”
A gritty win propels Wawrinka into his third consecutive Roland Garros quarterfinal where he will face Marin Cilic in a clash of the current and former US Open champions.
The seventh-seeded Cilic held a 6-3, 3-0 lead over Kevin Anderson when the 31-year-old South African retired. Wawrinka has won 11 of 13 career meetings with Cilic.
Today's fourth rounder pitted Monfils' exceptional movement and court coverage vs. Wawrinka's explosive strikes and aggression.
Playing for his fifth French Open quarterfinal, the acrobatic Frenchman covered the court as if it were his own personal safe space pressuring his sometime practice partner to hit another shot.
Down double break point at 2-all, Wawrinka blistered forehand winner then drew error. Transitioning from defense to offense, Monfils finally banged out the first break on his eighth break point for a 3-2 lead after 25 minutes.
Serving and volleying in the eighth game Monfils slid awkwardly near net and game up gimpy, clutching at his left ankle. Wawrinka broke back for 4-all.
All the good work Monfils did during the first 54 minutes of play dissipated in the dust in a nervous 12th game.
Trying to surprise with a serve-and-volley, the Frenchman pushed a forehand volley wide to face set point.
Monfils coughed up his first double fault to bring an ignominious end to what had been a crackling set.
The physicality of rallies escalated midway through the second set. Monfils fended off a break point in the sixth game then earned two break points in the next service game.
A feisty Wawrinka hammered his way through a tough nine-minute hold ripping some booming groundstrokes for a 4-3 lead.
After that serve test, Wawrinka took treatment for a lower back injury.
A 26-shot rally cracked open a tense tie break.
The 2015 champion turned it on blocking an overhead for the mini break at 4-3 then busting a backhand off the line for triple set point at 6-3.
Digging in, Monfils saved all three as a Wawrinka forehand down the line clipped the top of the tape and fluttered back on his side for 6-all. Monfils denied another set point with a stinging serve.
Unloading on a forehand off the sideline, Wawrinka snatched a fifth set point. Working his way forehand, the Swiss blocked a forehand volley crosscourt ending a 14-and-a-half-minute tie break with calm execution.
An inside-out forehand brought Wawrinka two match points in the eighth game.
A sliding Monfils redirected a mid-court forehand to save the second match point.
Another diagonal forehand delivered a third match point and Wawrinka lashed a backhand down the line to close it pointing an index finger to the side of his forehead.
“It was really mental,” Wawrinka said. “We are great friends. It’s ever easy to play Gael in a Grand Slams—specially playing at the French Open. “We were both really nervous. It was quite windy today. It was tough to be really focused. I tried to fight for every single point to show him it was going to be tough.”
The reigning US Open champion is bidding to join Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall as the third man in the Open Era to win three majors after the age of 30.