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Gael Monfils zakończył współpracę z Mikaelem Tillstroemem. Nowym szkoleniowcem Francuza został uznany fachowiec, Liam Smith.
Marcin Motyka
Marcin Motyka
03 Grudnia 2018, 08:10
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Getty Images / Scott Barbour / Na zdjęciu: Gael Monfils
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Rozwinął umiejętności Lucasa Pouille'a, teraz zajmie się innym talentem. Emmanuel Planque trenerem Corentina Mouteta
39-letni Liam Smith to uznana postać w świecie trenerów tenisa. W latach 2011-15 był głównym szkoleniowcem Tennis Australia. Wdrożył plan rozwoju męskiego tenisa na Antypodach i przyczynił się do rozwinięcia umiejętności Nicka Kyrgiosa, Alexa de Minaura czy Johna Millmana. Następnie pracował z Matthew Ebdenem i Radu Albotem, których doprowadził do największych sukcesów w karierach.
Teraz Amerykanin zastąpi Mikaela Tillstroema na stanowisku trenera Gaela Monfilsa. Obaj rozpoczęli już przygotowania. Francuz trenował pod okiem Smitha w Londynie, a w najbliższych dniach będą pracować w Genewie.

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- Znamy się od kilku lat. Kiedy jeszcze pracowałem z Tillstroemem, on jeździł z nami do Miami - mówił Monfils na łamach dziennika "L'Equipe". - On jest wielkim szefem, który lubi statystyki i analizy wideo. Ma plan. Chce, abym był bardziej agresywny, zwłaszcza jeśli chodzi o serwis i forhend.

Sezon 2018 Monfils zakończył na 29. miejscu w rankingu ATP i z jednym zdobytym tytułem (w Dosze). Nadchodzące rozgrywki Francuz zainauguruje występem w Auckland (7-13 stycznia). Następnie weźmie udział w wielkoszlemowym Australian Open (14-27 stycznia).

Basilashvili beaten in straight sets

On his Sofia Open debut, Gael Monfils needed just under an hour to defeat Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday.

The seventh-seeded Frenchman won 84 per cent of first-serve points (26/31) and saved all four break points he faced against the 2016 runner-up to reach the second round. With his fourth straight-sets victory over Troicki, Monfils improves to 5-0 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against the Serbian.

"I feel very good [in Sofia]. There is a great energy here, the people are very nice and it is an amazing stadium," said Monfils. "It was a very good [match], I returned very good and the key was a great serve."

Monfils will face Laslo Djere or Mikhail Kukushkin for a place in the quarter-finals. The 32-year-old owns a 1-1 FedEx ATP Head2Head series record against Kukushkin and has not met Djere at tour-level.

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Robin Haase defeated Dimitar Kuzmanov of Bulgaria 6-2, 6-4 in 74 minutes. The 31-year-old saved all three break points the wild card earned to book a second-round meeting against third seed Daniil Medvedev.

Daniel Brands upset fifth seed Nikoloz Basilashvili 7-6(7), 7-5 to book his place in the second round. The German qualifier, appearing in his first ATP Tour event this season, saved two set points in each set to claim his first tour-level victory since beating Marco Chiudinelli in the Bulgarian capital two years ago.

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Fellow qualifier Yannick Maden also reached the second round, upsetting Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 7-6(4). Maden will meet eighth seed Andreas Seppi or Marton Fucsovics for a quarter-final spot.

There were mixed fortunes for Italian players in Sofia. Roman Matteo Berrettini defeated Denis Istomin 6-4, 7-6(7) to reach the second round, but Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany overcame qualifier Stefano Travaglia 6-4, 6-3. Berrettini will meet top seed Karen Khachanov in the second round, while Struff will face second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

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Medvedev, Berrettini move into semi-finals

Gael Monfils recorded his biggest win for four months on Friday to book his place in the Sofia Open semi-finals. The seventh-seeded Frenchman beat World No. 12 Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals champion, 6-3, 7-6(5). It was his biggest win since October 2018, when Monfils beat then No. 9-ranked John Isner at the Erste Bank Open 500 in Vienna.

"Stefanos is a great player. There's no doubt," Monfils said. "Today I think it was just a few points. He's a real champion and he will become a big champion."

Monfils broke Tsitsipas in the opening game and clinched his third set point in the 35-minute opener. Solid on serve throughout — winning 93 per cent of his first-service points — the Frenchman recovered from 4/5 down in the second-set tie-break for his fourth win of the season. Tsitsipas, who had beaten Monfils in October 2018 at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, came into the match in strong form having reached the recent Australian Open semi-finals (l. to Nadal).


Monfils will now challenge Daniil Medvedev, who struck nine aces and lost only six of his service points to cruise past Martin Klizan of Slovakia 6-4, 6-1. The third-seeded Russian, who broke serve four times for victory in 70 minutes, improved to 9-2 on the season, which includes a runner-up finish at last month’s Brisbane International (l. to Nishikori).

"It's going to be a tough one as well. Daniil is coming on strong, won a lot of matches this year already," Monfils said. "It's going to be another battle. I think another gameplan because he's a different player. The ball stays very low, he serves big. I will have to adapt myself again, I guess be aggressive as well and also try to serve as big as I can."

Earlier in the day, Italy’s Matteo Berrettini grew in confidence on serve to beat sixth-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in two hours and 22 minutes.

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Verdasco recovered from 0/40, when serving at 3-3 in the second set, but was broken in the 11th game. Berrettini, the 2018 Gstaad champion, gave little away on serve in the second and third sets — losing just eight of his first-service points. At one stage, the 22-year-old won 12 of 14 points, including a service break for a 3-2 lead in the decider.

Berrettini will now face Marton Fucsovics, who celebrated his 27th birthday by advancing to the second ATP Tour semi-final of his career. The Hungarian was awarded a walkover when his opponent, 2016 champion and fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut, withdrew, prior to their first meeting, due to illness. Last year, Fucsovics won his first ATP Tour title in Geneva (d. Gojowczyk).

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