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Once again, a John Isner and Gael Monfils match lived up to its billing. The Frenchman saved match point to prevail over his towering American rival 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 7-5 in front of a packed Stadium 2 crowd at the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday afternoon.
The two have a noted history of high-quality matches – only two of their previous nine matches had been decided in straight sets, both of which were won by Monfils. In what was the 10th meeting in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry, Monfils was able to raise his level in the biggest moments, producing highlight-reel shots and saving all seven break points he faced, including a match point at 4-5 in the third set, in the two-hour, 35-minute blockbuster.

In an interesting quirk of the rivalry, the player winning the opening set in a tie-break has never gone on to win the match – and that pattern held true on a sweltering Sunday afternoon at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Palm Springs, California.
The match’s proceedings were unsurprisingly dominated by the serve. Isner, who struck 15 aces, faced only one break point in the first two sets, which came in just the third game of the match. Monfils was able to fend off all three break points faced in the first set, but was unable make inroads in the first-set tie-break against his big-serving opponent. Playing with slightly more intensity and serving better in the pressure moments, Isner was able to claim the first set in just under an hour.
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The second set followed a similar script. With zero break points on offer for either player, the set – and potentially the match – came down to another tie-break. Isner, who had won just two of eight tie-breaks contested in 2018 coming into the match with Monfils, went down a mini-break early. The Frenchman extended his lead with a miracle passing shot to move ahead 5/2 with a second mini-break. The American would later hit a final forehand into the net, sending the battle into a decider.

Isner appeared to have the match in his sights at 4-3 in the third set, when he was able to push the Monfils serve to a 0/40 deficit. However, the 31-year-old was able to find his most resilient tennis, defending from all corners of the court to erase each of the three break points. Isner’s chance would come again in Monfils’ next service game, this time generating a match point on the Frenchman’s serve. Once again, the American was unsuccessful, and it proved to be his undoing – Monfils raised his level to break Isner immediately after with more unbelievable shotmaking, earning a standing ovation and the only break of the match.
"I felt that [the third set] was a little bit tight, that’s why I fired up straight away," said Monfils. "When I saved those last two break points I fired up the crowd because I think when you can see your opponent is tight, it’s good.
"But then [in] the end I was very lucky, I had good aspiration I think at that game because honestly I hit a ridiculous return and passing shot, and then I just held."
The win marks Monfils’ 12th victory of the season, having previously claimed the title in Doha to start the year and reaching the quarter-finals or better at three of his next four tournaments. Monfils owns seven ATP World Tour titles but has yet to claim a trophy at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events, reaching finals twice in Paris and once in Monte Carlo.

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Up next for Monfils is compatriot Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who claimed an upset victory over No. 24 seed Gilles Muller earlier in the day. Herbert, who owns 12 doubles titles at the tour level including two Grand Slam trophies, made full use of his doubles skills to serve-and-volley his way past Muller, who was last year’s champion in both Sydney and 's-Hertogenbosch.
Last season, Herbert reached a career-high of No. 63 in the ATP Rankings, and will look to edge closer to that benchmark when he faces Monfils in what will be the first match in their FedEx ATP Head2Head.
Philipp Kohlschreiber extended his FedEx ATP Head2Head with Tim Smyczek to a perfect 4-0, as he recovered from a set down to move past the American 1-6, 6-4, 6-4. The win marks just his third of the season as the German looks to round back into the form that has won him eight ATP World Tour titles in his 17-year career.
“For sure it was not the best start. I think [Smyczek] played a really good first set. It was a good fight from both of us,” said Kohlschreiber after the match. “Maybe I’m not playing my best tennis right now, so it’s a double struggle a little bit with the conditions and with myself, but I kept the right moments for me, winning the big points. I’m happy that I really brought the match through.”
Up next for Kohlschreiber is No. 2 seed Marin Cilic, who defeated Marton Fucsovics 7-5, 6-3 in one hour, 39 minutes. In their previous meeting in Basel last year, Cilic was taken all the way to a third-set tie-break by the Hungarian, but made much lighter work of Fucsovics this time around. The 29-year-old Croatian saved both break points he faced and won 72 per cent of points on serve in the match. Cilic trails his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Kohlschreiber 4-6.

Fifth seed Mannarino upset by Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez

Gael Monfils arrived in Lyon attempting to get back on track following consecutive 3-6, 1-6 losses in Madrid and Rome.

But the No. 6 seed let slip a 6-2, 4-3 lead in his debut on Monday at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon. German Maximilian Marterer eliminated the Frenchman 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting after one hour, 50 minutes. It is the second year in a row that Monfils has lost three consecutive matches ahead of Roland Garros. In 2017, the former World No. 6 advanced to the Round of 16 in Paris before falling in straight sets against Stan Wawrinka.

Marterer, whose only previous win against a player sitting higher in the ATP Rankings than Monfils came against World No. 16 Diego Schwartzman in Munich this year, impressively won 42 per cent of first-serve return points in the second and third sets to advance to the second round. The 22-year-old will face Britain's Cameron Norrie, who beat Dominican Jose Hernandez-Fernandez 7-6(5), 6-1 in a battle between two former college tennis players.

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Guillermo Garcia-Lopez notched his 10th tour-level win of 2018, upsetting fifth seed Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Garcia-Lopez, who reached the quarter-finals in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro on clay in February, converted six of his 18 break point chances to advance after one hour, 51 minutes.The 34-year-old will face France's Calvin Hemery, who earned his second tour-level win on Sunday, for a spot in the quarter-finals.

Ecuador Open champion Roberto Carballes Baena took three hours and five minutes to book his place in the Round of 16, edging Laslo Djere 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 6-3. The Spaniard won 77 per cent of first-serve points and saved seven of eight break points en route to the triumph, earning him a second-round meeting against top seed Dominic Thiem.

Lucky loser Federico Coria came from a set down to secure his first ATP World Tour win in his first tour-level match, defeating compatirot Nicolas Kicker 4-6, 6-1, 7-5. The World No. 335 was just 2-5 on the ATP Challenger Tour this season. But nevertheless, the Argentine won 73 per cent of second-serve return points and broke his 25-year-old compatriot on six occasions to clinch his milestone victory.

Did You Know?
Federico Coria owned just one Top 100 triumph before beating Nicolas Kicker on Monday, which came against World No. 100 Renzo Olivo at the Campinas Challenger in October 2016.

No. 32 seed defeats countryman Benchetrit in four sets
Gael Monfils recovered from a slow start to begin his 12th campaign at Roland Garros, defeating countryman Elliot Benchetrit 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-1.

The 2008 semi-finalist (l. to Federer) looked to be in trouble, losing the opening four games of the match before dropping the first set, but raced back in emphatic fashion to book his place in the second round. Monfils broke serve on nine occasions and won 87 per cent of net points (7/8) en route to victory.

Monfils had lost three of his four matches on European clay this season, heading into the first-round encounter, but showed signs of his best tennis in front of a packed crowd on Court Suzanne Lenglen to book his place in the next round.

The No. 32 seed will meet Slovakia’s Martin Klizan or Laslo Djere of Serbia for a spot in the Round of 32. Monfils is tied at 1-1 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Klizan and is yet to face Djere in a tour-level match.

Did You Know?
Gael Monfils owns a 32-11 record at Roland Garros. The Frenchman’s best result came in 2008, when he lost to Roger Federer in the semi-finals. Since then, Monfils has reached the quarter-finals on three occasions, losing to Federer in 2009 and 2011 and Andy Murray in 2014.

Gael Monfils w trzech setach pokonał Martina Klizana w II rundzie rozgrywanego na kortach ziemnych w Paryżu wielkoszlemowego Roland Garros 2018. Pojedynek Dominika Thiema ze Stefanosem Tsitsipasem został przerwany z powodu zmierzchu.
Marcin Motyka
Marcin Motyka
30 Maja 2018, 23:11
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Getty Images / Julian Finney / Na zdjęciu: Gael Monfils
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Roland Garros: Alexander Zverev, Kei Nishikori i Grigor Dimitrow sprawdzeni na pełnym dystansie
W 2006 roku, jako 19-latek, Gael Monfils dotarł do półfinału Rolanda Garrosa. Od tego czasu w każdej edycji paryskiego turnieju jest jedną z największych nadziei gospodarzy, ale tamtego sukcesu nie powtórzył. Być może uda mu się w tegorocznej edycji. Na razie zameldował się w 1/16 finału. W środowym pojedynku II rundy Francuz pokonał 6:2, 6:4, 6:4 nieobliczalnego i groźnego dla najlepszych leworęcznego Martina Klizana.
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Mecz trwał godzinę i 55 minut. W tym czasie Monfils zaserwował pięć asów, dwukrotnie został przełamany, wykorzystał sześć z dziesięciu break pointów, posłał 25 zagrań kończących, popełnił 17 niewymuszonych błędów i łącznie zdobył 96 punktów, o 20 więcej od rywala. Klizanowi natomiast zapisano trzy asy, 32 uderzenia wygrywające i 51 pomyłek własnych.

Dla Monfilsa to dziesiąty awans do III rundy w 12. występie w Rolandzie Garrosie. - Noc przed meczem była dla mnie bezsenna. Od dwóch dni mam gorączkę, musiałem przyjąć antybiotyk. Nie rozegrałem dobrego meczu, ale cieszę się ze zwycięstwa - mówił Francuz, który o 1/8 finału powalczy z Davidem Goffinem.

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez w I rundzie wyeliminował Stana Wawrinkę, zeszłorocznego finalistę, lecz kolejnego szczebla w turniejowej drabince nie przeszedł. W środowe popołudnie Hiszpan przegrał w czterech setach z Karenem Chaczanowem. Dla Rosjanina to drugi z rzędu awans do 1/16 finału Rolanda Garrosa. W kolejnej fazie zmierzy się z lepszym z pary Lucas Pouille - Cameron Norrie.

Mecz Francuza z Brytyjczykiem został przerwany po trzech setach z powodu zapadającego zmierzchu, podobnie jak znakomite spotkanie pomiędzy Dominikiem Thiemem a Stefanosem Tsitsipasem. Tenisiści wrócą do gry w czwartek.

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Roland Garros, Paryż (Francja)
Wielki Szlem, kort ziemny, pula nagród 39,197 mln euro
środa, 30 maja

II runda gry pojedynczej:

Gael Monfils (Francja, 32) - Martin Klizan (Słowacja, Q) 6:2, 6:4, 6:4
Karen Chaczanow (Rosja) - Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Hiszpania) 6:4, 7:6(7), 6:7(0), 6:3
Dominic Thiem (Austria, 7) - Stefanos Tsitsipas (Grecja) 6:2, 2:6, 6:4 *do dokończenia
Lucas Pouille (Francja, 15) - Cameron Norrie (Wielka Brytania) 6:2, 6:4, 5:7 *do dokończenia

Szwed opiekował się Francuzem od października 2015 roku i przyczynił się do jego sukcesów na światowych kortach. W sezonie 2016 Gael Monfils wygrał turniej w Waszyngtonie, był w finale imprez w Monte Carlo i Rotterdamie oraz dotarł do półfinału US Open. Dzięki tym wynikom wystąpił w Finałach ATP World Tour i był szóstą rakietą globu.



Reprezentant Trójkolorowych powrócił w styczniu 2018 roku do rywalizacji po kilkumiesięcznej kontuzji i wygrał zawody w katarskiej Dosze. W ostatnim czasie nie notował godnych uwagi rezultatów, dlatego spadł na 43. miejsce w klasyfikacji ATP. Teraz 31-latek oznajmił, że opuszcza go osoba, która wcześniej pozwoliła mu się odbudować.


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Mikael Tillstroem nie będzie miał już czas na podróże, ponieważ chce spędzać więcej czasu z rodziną, a do tego został szefem Good to Great Tennis Academy w Sztokholmie. - Jestem mi przykro, że Mikael musi mnie opuścić, ale pragnę podziękować mu za jego pracę i oddanie. Osiągnęliśmy razem wiele wspaniałych rzeczy. Teraz będę potrzebował trochę czasu, aby ocenić obecną sytuację i skonsultować ze swoim sztabem kolejne kroki - powiedział Monfils, który będzie musiał znaleźć nowego głównego szkoleniowca.

Adrian Mannarino jest najwyżej rozstawionym uczestnikiem rozpoczynającego się w niedzielę turnieju ATP Word Tour 250 w Antalyi, który będzie rozgrywany na kortach trawiastych. W Turcji formę przed Wimbledonem 2018 sprawdzi m.in. Gael Monfils.
Marcin Motyka
Marcin Motyka
24 Czerwca 2018, 08:43
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Getty Images / Julian Finney / Na zdjęciu: Gael Monfils

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ATP Londyn: pierwszy od roku finał Novaka Djokovicia. Marin Cilić zatrzymał Nicka Kyrgiosa

Tegoroczna edycja turnieju ATP w Antalyi będzie drugą w historii. Zawody w kalendarzu pojawiły się w ubiegłym sezonie i tym samym Turcja stała się piątym krajem goszczącym imprezę rangi ATP World Tour rozgrywaną na kortach trawiastych.

W głównej drabince Turkish Airlines Antalya Open próżno jednak szukać największych gwiazd męskich rozgrywek. W tym roku najwyżej rozstawionym będzie Adrian Mannarino, aktualnie 25. tenisista globu. Drugim uczestnikiem turnieju notowanym w czołowej "30" klasyfikacji singlistów został Damir Dzumhur, 29. gracz świata.

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Jedna z dzikich kart trafiła w ręce Gaela Monfilsa. Dla Francuza będzie to pierwszy i jedyny turniej przygotowawczy przed rozpoczynającym się 2 lipca wielkoszlemowym Wimbledonem 2018. Monfils w Antalyi wystąpi rozstawiony z numerem czwartym i w I rundzie otrzymał wolny los, podobnie jak Mannarino, Dzumhur i oznaczony "trójką" Fernando Verdasco.

Tytułu sprzed roku będzie bronił Yuichi Sugita, który został rozstawiony z numerem siódmym. Japończyk na początek zagra z Guido Pellą, a jeśli wygra pierwszy mecz, w 1/8 finału stanie naprzeciw Federico Delbonisa bądź Pierre'a-Huguesa Herberta. W turnieju zabraknie reprezentantów Polski.

Turkish Airlines Antalya Open, Antalya (Turcja)
ATP World Tour 250, kort trawiasty, pula nagród 426,1 tys. euro

Losowanie głównej drabinki:

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Adrian Mannarino (Francja, 1) wolny los
Jewgienij Donskoj (Rosja) - Ricardas Berankis (Litwa)
Paolo Lorenzi (Włochy) - Mirza Basić (Bośnia i Hercegowina)
Florian Mayer (Niemcy) - Joao Sousa (Portugalia, 6)

Gael Monfils (Francja, 4/WC) wolny los
Q - Marcos Baghdatis (Cypr)
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Hiszpania) - Q
Q - Robin Haase (Holandia, 5)

Dusan Lajović (Serbia, - Q
Roberto Carballes (Hiszpania) - Nikołoz Basilaszwili (Gruzja)
Jiri Vesely (Czechy) - Jordan Thompson (Australia)
Fernando Verdasco (Hiszpania, 3) wolny los

Yuichi Sugita (Japonia, 7) - Guido Pella (Argentyna)
Federico Delbonis (Argentyna) - Pierre-Hugues Herbert (Francja)
Cem Ilkel (Turcja, WC) - Marius Copil (Rumunia)
Damir Dzumhur (Bośnia i Hercegowina, 2) wolny los

Snaps four-match losing streak against Top 30 opposition
Gael Monfils scored his 10th victory in 17 FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings with countryman Richard Gasquet, overcoming the No. 23 seed 7-6(6), 7-5, 6-4 at Wimbledon on Monday.

Monfils, who has never advanced beyond the third round at Wimbledon, won 71 per cent of net points and converted three of six break points to beat two-time semi-finalist Gasquet in two hours and 21 minutes. As a result of his three-set victory, Monfils joins Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in fifth place on the list of most tour-level match-wins by a Frenchman (430).

The Turkish Airlines Open Antalya semi-finalist also ends a four-match losing streak against Top 30 opposition. Monfils' last victory against that group came against John Isner at the BNP Paribas Open in March. It is also Monfils' 20th Grand Slam win against Top 30 players (20-28).

Gasquet has now lost back-to-back first-round matches at Wimbledon after falling to Spain's David Ferrer in his opening match at The All England Club in 2017. The Libema Open titlist was aiming to take sole ownership of second place on the list of most Grand Slam match wins by a Frenchman. Gasquet (103-53) remains tied with Jean Borotra (103-23), 14 victories shy of all-time leader Tsonga (117-40).
Monfils will meet Paolo Lorenzi for a place in the third round. The Italian defeated Laslo Djere of Serbia 7-6(1), 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-4 in three hours.

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Last year's quarter-finalist Gilles Muller survived a first-round scare on Court 7, beating #NextGenATP American Michael Mmoh 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-1. Muller landed 36 aces in the three-hour, 25-minute contest and won 80 per cent of first-serve points. In the fourth round last year, Muller defeated Rafael Nadal 15-13 in the fifth set to reach his first quarter-final at The All England Club.

The World No. 60 will face Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber for a place in the third round. Kohlschreiber needed exactly two hours to beat Russian Evgeny Donskoy 6-2, 6-4, 7-5.

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Did You Know?
Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils are the first pair of Frenchmen in the Open Era to meet at each of the four Grand Slams.