Gael Monfils and Novak Djokovic jointly create tennis magic in Toronto
Novak Djokovic had a 9-0 record against Gael Monfils going into their second round match at Toronto yesterday, so no one really expected the encounter to bring spectators to the edge of their seats.
How wrong we were!
Djokovic and Monfils combined to produce one of the most exhilarating and entertaining matches in recent memory, pulling out one sensational shot after another. There was drama, there was insanely quick running, there was sensational shot-making – just about everything you could ask for in a tennis match.
After Djokovic cruised past a seemingly half-asleep Monfils in the first set to take it 6-2, Monfils found his bearings and started to make it a contest. But Gael being Gael, he couldn’t resist bringing out some spectacular showmanship even while he was giving the World No. 1 a run for his money. This between-the-legs shot that he hit at 3-3 in the second set was worth the price of admission:
But that wasn’t nearly the extent of the magic that this match contained. Monfils kept unfurling one impossible shot after another, and Djokovic kept remaining solid at the other end. Monfils would head the ball, dare Djokovic to hit him with an overhead, and in general do everything that you would least expect in a regulation tennis match. But most astonishing of all was a point where Monfils’ racquet flew out of his hand, and he still managed to hit the ball!
That Djokovic was still able to absorb all of Monfils’ genius and shenanigans and still come out the winner, speaks a lot about the composure that the Serb has instilled in himself over the years. He wrapped up the match 6-2, 6-7, 7-6 to book his passage to the third round, and would surely rank this among the most memorable victories of his career.
Here’s a compilation of the more epic moments from the match, with the racquet-out-of-hand point beginning at 0:40. (Djokovic’s expression at the 0:55 mark is priceless!)