Gael Monfils was descending into the depths of a 5-20 lifetime record in ATP finals. He was maintaining his ignominious distinction of being the best player on tour to have never won anything more than a 250-point title.
And then he wasn’t.
Four Ivo Karlovic serves away from what appeared to be an inevitable defeat, Gael Monfils fought off one championship point to stun the 6’11” Croat 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-4 in the Citi Open final on Sunday afternoon. Monfils withstood 28 Karlovic aces and came up with one of the most improbable breaks of serve you will ever see to triumph after two hours and 13 minutes.
The championship match appeared to be all but over when Karlovic broke for a 5-4 advantage in the second set. The world No. 35 had not dropped serve a single time in the entire tournament–a streak of 53 consecutive holds–when he stepped up to the line in an attempt to clinch the title. In a flash, however, Karlovic’s usually steadfast right arm tightened up with the biggest title of his career in the palm of his hand.
Karlovic soon found himself trailing 0-40, but it looked like deja vu when two booming serves shrunk the deficit to 30-40. In the opening set, Washington, D.C.’s 13th seed had snuffed out a 0-40 opportunity for Monfils in the 12th game by winning six of the next seven points.
It was all on Karlovic’s racket to accomplish the same feat at 5-4 in the second, but he overcooked a forehand volley right on top of the net and sent it just past the baseline to give Monfils the break.
“I don’t know why, but my serve stopped (when I served for the match),” Karlovic lamented. “It happens, I guess; I’m not used to that. I was going to win and I lost my serve. That is tennis. Of course, every match you have a little bit of pressure. I’ve dealt with that in many matches and usually I’m able to get over it. Today I couldn’t. But it was a great week.”
Despite the obvious disappointment, the recent Newport champion’s physical and mental dip did not begin until the third set. Karlovic held easily at 5-6 to force a tiebreaker and took care of every service point en route to a 6-5, championship-point advantage. Monfils erased it with a clutch serve, edged ahead 7-6 by securing his next service point, and finished the second set by forcing Karlovic into a shoe-string volley that the big man could not handle.
The hard-to-believe momentum swing became complete when the Frenchman broke his opponent again for a 2-1 lead in the decider. Karlovic’s only opening in the third came with Monfils serving at 4-3, 0-30, but the No. 2 seed quickly won four straight points to hold for 5-3. A hold to 15 at 5-4 wrapped up Monfils’ comeback and gave him just his sixth career ATP title–and first at the 500 level.
“I still had this hope that I would have the chances that I did in the first set (in the 0-40 game),” the world No. 17 said of seeing Karlovic serve for the title at 5-4 in the second set. “I was like, ‘I need to make him play.’ I think I [was] very lucky that he missed two volleys…. It was luck. It wasn’t a regular win.”
It was, in a way, the most important win of Monfils’ career. Although he has reached major semifinals and Masters 1000 title matches, including earlier this season in Monte-Carlo, his 5-19 record in ATP finals had included nothing more than 250-point winner’s trophies. Now he has a 500-point title to his credit, and he joins an incredible list of Washington, D.C. champions that includes Arthur Ashe (1973), Yannick Noah (1985), Ivan Lendl (multiple), Jimmy Connors (mutiple), Andre Agassi (multiple), and Stefan Edberg (1994).
Within a matter of minutes after the match, Monfils’ name was the latest to be enshrined inside the stadium.
“Definitely to have my name next to them, it’s priceless,” Monfils assured. “I’m very happy. It’s a special moment for me.”
wow
Gael Houdini!
Lazarus Monfils!