Gaël Monfils’ Epic Comeback Against Aleksandar Vukic: A Display of Phenomenal Tennis

At 37 years old, Gaël Monfils remains as phenomenal as ever. Yet in the tough physically, the Frenchman, trailing 4-1 in the third set, with a double break behind, managed to dig deep within himself to get the better of the lucky loser Aleksandar Vukic (6-7, 6-3, 7-5), who had replaced his compatriot Jordan Thompson (forfeit) a few minutes before the start of the match, after a beautiful duel lasting 2 hours 14 minutes.

After a rather convincing start to the match, Gaël Monfils, author of 15 aces and 4 double faults this Tuesday, took his opponent’s service at 3-2 in the first set before being broken in the process. A few minutes later, the two men played the deciding game. The Frenchman long regretted his missed set point at 6-5. Indeed, the Australian won the first round straight away.

During the second set, Gaël Monfils more largely dominated the debates against Aleksandar Vukic and regained the score after 34 minutes of play. The Parisian then left the impression that he was going to devour the current 65th in the world. But the Monte Carlo public ultimately witnessed the opposite scenario.

Indeed, Aleksandar Vukic quickly led 4-1, facing a physically tough opponent, with two breaks in advance and the service to follow. But little by little, Gaël Monfils, much more relaxed in the exchanges, returned to the match before definitively overthrowing the Australian. Opposed to Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday, the finalist of the 2016 edition will have to quickly regain a minimum of physical freshness if he wants to stand up to his opponent.

Son in reaction, Musetti in action: The highlights of the Frenchman’s defeat

Son released by Musetti

Arthur Fils, 18 years younger, did not experience the same success later in the evening. Opposed to Lorenzo Musetti, the Tricolore fought for 1h42, but failed to resist the Italian (6-3, 7-5). Broken from his first throw-in, the 19-year-old never managed to catch up during the first round. The second could have been quick, since the 36th player in the world was trailing 2-5 while still being shaken on his serve. But he won twelve of the next thirteen points to get back to 5-5.

Moment where he finally conceded once again and allowed Musetti to serve a third time for the match. The Frenchman, who was participating in the tournament for the first time and was very convincing in the first round against the German Yannick Hanfmann, saved a match point but lost the second. And it is the Italian who will face world No.1 Novak Djokovic on Thursday for a place in the quarter-finals. Last year, Musetti ended the Serbian’s run at the same stage in the round of 16.

2024-04-09 21:46:00
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