By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Friday, August 16, 2024
A 37-year-old Gael Monfils stunned Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in Cincinnati become the second-oldest man this century to defeat a Top-3 ranked player.
Photo credit: Frey/TPN/Getty
Fierce front-runner Carlos Alcaraz typically invokes the last word when winning the first set.
Today, a creative Gael Monfils played disruptive combinations driving Alcaraz into self-destruction.
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On his second match point, Monfils zapped a serve winner wide, toppling reigning Roland Garros and Wimbledon winner Alcaraz 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 to reach the Cincinnati Open third round.
It was Monfils’ first Top 3 victory since he stunned world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev at the 2022 Indian Wells.
The 37-year-old French shotmaker made his mark as the second-oldest man to defeat a Top 3-ranked player this century after his friend, 38-year-old Roger Federer, who beat Novak Djokovic in the 2019 ATP Finals.
After suitable rest, Monfils will return to the court later today to face 21-year-old Dane Holger Rune in the third round.
The 2023 Cincinnati runner-up, Alcaraz owned a 31-1 record when winning the first set this season with his lone loss when up a set coming to Andrey Rublev in the Mutua Madrid Open quarterfinals last May.
This match was suspended by rain last night with Alcaraz holding a 6-4, 6-6 lead and Monfils ahead 3-1 in the tiebreaker.
Play resumed on a muggy afternoon today and Monfils wasted little time wrapping up the tiebreaker to force a final set.
Exploiting Alcaraz’s deep return position, Monfils pulled out the serve and volley a few times and player short angles frustrating the four-time Grand Slam champion.
Monfils fired 15 aces against 12 double faults and saved six of seven break points today, including denying all four break points he faced in the final set.
Talking to coach Juan Carlos Ferrero at times between points, a disconsolate Alcaraz erupted in a rare racquet-smashing temper tantrum after Monfils erased three break points in his first two service games in holding for 3-1.
A raging Alcaraz, who basically broke himself to hand the Frenchman a 2-1 lead in the decider, spiked his racquet to the court four times in a row leaving its head a mangled mess after two hours of play.
It was a rare show of negative emotion from the perpetually-positive Spaniard and showed Monfils the stress Alcaraz was feeling across the net.
Though that emotional eruption actually seemed to settle Alcaraz, but a tenacious Monfils refused to yield.
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An assertive Monfils won eight of nine trips to net in the final set.
Forcing a couple of shanks from Alcaraz, whose forehand let him down at times today, Monfils earned double match point.
The veteran double faulted on his first match point, bent over at the waist and looked at his support box for a moment.
Resetting, Monfils ripped that serve winner wrapping up a rewarding two hour, 30 minute win played over two days.