Gael Monfils recaptured the form that saw him reach the Australian Open quarter-finals to knock out World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev on Monday in Indian Wells. With the loss, Medvedev will hand back the top spot in the ATP Rankings to Novak Djokovic next Monday.
The 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory puts the Frenchman into the Round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open, where he will face the red-hot Carlos Alcaraz.
"I played great tennis," Monfils assessed. "I knew I was in great shape and tough to beat. It's always special to beat a World No. 1," he added, recalling when he fell just short after having three match points against then-No. 1 Djokovic in the 2020 Dubai semi-finals.
After competing just once in February, the 26th seed got his first win since Melbourne against Filip Krajinovic on Saturday. He built on that with a scintillating performance in Stadium 1, his explosive and carefree tennis enthralling the early afternoon crowd in the desert.
"I moved great," the 35-year-old said of his performance. "I was striking the ball very good and I'm full of confidence, so I'll try to keep the flow."
Following a sloppy end to the first set, Monfils found a new gear for the rest of the two-hour, four-minute match. Medvedev won the last 11 points of the opening set, then created a break point in the first game of the second before the match was turned on its head.
Aggressive throughout, Monfils began to find more consistency with his baseline blasts. Medvedev got the better of the long rallies early on, but the Frenchman was able to break down the World No. 1 as the match wore on.
He used two screaming break-point winners to gain control of the second set, re-establishing his break advantage with a forehand rope that sent the crowd into a frenzy as Monfils basked in the support.
The Frenchman charged to a 4-0 lead in the final set, twice battling through deuce to break. As Monfils remained in top form, Medvedev's level dropped as errors crept in to his game with increasing regularity. He never seriously threatened a comeback, with much of the credit for that going to Monfils, who kept the pressure on and kept his opponent chasing points from deep beyond the baseline.
On his sixth match point on the return, the Frenchman fittingly ended the match in style with a backhand winner.
It’s a second career victory over a current World No. 1 for Monfils, his first coming against Rafael Nadal in 2009 in Doha. He'll now turn his attention to another Spaniard in 19th seed Carlos Alcaraz, who many are pegging to top the ATP Rankings in the future. The Rio de Janeiro champion blitzed past compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut, 6-2, 6-0, on Monday.
"It's gonna be a tough one," Monfils previewed. "He's in extremely great form, so I have to play my game and be tough."
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/vyl0dGo
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