On Wednesday afternoon, the Rogers Cup provided one of the best 3-set matches the tournament has ever seen. Frenchman Gael Monfils was just a tiebreak away on from upsetting Novak Djokovic in the thrilling match that ended 6-2, 6-7(4), 7-6(2).
Monfils has never beat Djokovic in nine previous matches and and it certainly isn’t from trying. He put Djokovic through his paces in the 2nd and 3rd sets with ferocious forehand returns, great agility, and not afraid to dive and get scuffed up. Win or lose he is a great competitor and wins the crowd over. One moment of the match he dived to his right and returned a shot, picked himself up and dived to his left while throwing his racquet and returned that shot, and then dived to his right again, without a racquet, trying to return the ball with his hand.
The 1st set was all Djokovic, serving five aces, it looked like it would be a quick match on his way to a 10th victory in as many attempts vs Monfils. He slowed the pace of the game when he saw Monfils picking it up and frustrated him.
The 2nd-set was thrilling and all excitement as the two players showed some of the best tennis to be played at the Rogers Cup. Long rallies, close calls, and very desperate to win tennis was how the 2nd-set played out. Both players gave the crowd their moneys worth with some brilliant tennis. After the set was over and I realized they only play 3-sets, I was a bit disappointed because I wanted to see a 5-set match. This excitement is why the fans come out and witness the best tennis has to offer.
The third round is next after the victory for the world No. 1 Djokovic where he faces 13-seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France. In his last seven visits to Rogers Cup, Djokovic has never lost before the quarter-finals, winning the title in 2007, 2011 and 2012.
