By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday September 23, 2021
Gael Monfils moved past Philipp Kohlschreiber to reach his second ATP quarterfinal in as many months.
Photo Source: Corinne Dubreiul/ Moselle Open
Gael Monfils is back in business on home soil.
The 35-year-old Frenchman stretched his winning streak against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber to seven on Thursday, earning a 7-6(2), 6-4 triumph at the Moselle Open in Metz, France, to reach his second quarterfinal in as many months.
Monfils, the 2009 champion at the Moselle Open, improves to 15-2 lifetime against the German, and 10-13 in 2021.
He wasn’t exactly poetry in motion in this humorous moment, which got laughs from the crowd, from his opponent, and Monfils himself, but he later showed that he is capable of jumping the net, even at 35.
Monfils was strong from the service stripe, winning 38 of 43 first-serve points and saving four of six break points. There were no breaks of serve in the opening set and it was Monfils who dominated the tiebreak.
In the second set Monfils led 2-0, but couldn’t hold the lead. Eventually he recovered and broke for 5-4 before holding at love to close the contest in one hour and 33 minutes.
Basilashvili Saves Four Match Points to Advance
The Frenchman will face Spain’s Nikoloz Basilashvili in the last eight on Friday.
The No.8-seeded Georgian came through a spirited tussle with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain, 0-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) in a wild encounter in which he saved four match points to stay alive at 5-all in the third set.
Davidovich Fokina then came through a marathon game to hold for 6-5, before Basilashvili forced a tiebreak then clinched his victory in two hours and 57 minutes.
Elsewhere in round of 16 action in Mets, American Marcos Giron secured his biggest career win by defeating fourth-seeded Alex de Minaur 7-5, 7-6(5), while Peter Gojowczyk defeated Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-6(2).
The quarterfinals at Metz shape up as follows: