at the Moselle Open in Metz, France. And when it comes to the flying Frenchman, that means a steady stream of sneakers squeaking on a hard court.
After sitting out since May due to a knee injury, the 26-year-old Frenchman has broken into a sprint in his first week back on tour, storming to the semifinals with a spirited three-set win over Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany on Friday 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4.
Monfils, who also defeated Kohlschreiber in three sets in Madrid for his last top 25 victory this spring, saved four of five break points in the final set, including one with an ace while serving for the match, before closing the match on a serve-and-volley play.
Seventh-seeded Monfils, who only connected on 43 percent of his first serves on the day, thanked adrenaline for getting him through. “I took pleasure in the fight, the adrenaline makes you forget the fear of injury.”
Monfils will face fifth-seeded Italian Andreas Seppi in Saturday’s semifinal round. Seppi reached his third ATP semifinal of the year with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Germany’s Florian Mayer.
Monfils’ compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 win over American Jesse Levine.
Ivo Karlovic and Nikolay Davydenko are currently battling for the final spot in the last four.
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MOSELLE OPEN
Metz, France
September 17-23, 2012
€398,250 / ATP World Tour 250 (€450,000 Total Financial Commitment)
Tournament Website: Moselle Open | Live Scores | Draws
RESULTS - FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012
Singles - Quarter-finals
[1] J Tsonga (FRA) d J Levine (USA) 63 64
[7] G Monfils (FRA) d [2] P Kohlschreiber (GER) 67(3) 64 64
[5] A Seppi (ITA) d [4] F Mayer (GER) 75 62
[8] [WC] N Davydenko (RUS) d I Karlovic (CRO) 67(5) 76(6) 60 - Saved 1 M.P.
Doubles - Semi-finals
[4] J Brunstrom (SWE) / F Nielsen (DEN) d X Malisse (BEL) / A Waske (GER) 76(5) 76(5)
SCHEDULE - SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2012
CENTRE COURT start 2:00 pm
[5] A Seppi (ITA) vs [7] G Monfils (FRA)
Not Before 3:30 PM
[1] J Tsonga (FRA) vs [8] [WC] N Davydenko (RUS)
[3] D Brown (GER) / C Kas (GER) vs [2] N Mahut (FRA) / E Roger-Vasselin (FRA)
Tournament Website: Moselle Open | Live Scores | Draws