According to ranking and seed, not a single Frenchman was expected to reach the U.S. Open quarters. Instead, three in the top half of the draw alone have advanced that far. They will be back in action on Tuesday along with Novak Djokovic.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (9) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Djokovic and Tsonga will be squaring off for the 22nd time in their careers when they clash in the quarterfinals on the U.S. Open on Tuesday. The head-to-head series stands at 15-6 in favor of Djokovic, who once trailed Tsonga 5-2 but is 10-1 in their last 11 matches dating back to 2011. They have faced each other once this season, with the top-ranked Serb getting the job done 7-6(2), 7-6(2) in the quarters of the Indian Wells Masters.
Even though Djokovic is No. 1 in the 2016 race to London and the defending champion of this event, he headed into New York as a bit of a question mark. The 29-year-old lost early at Wimbledon to Sam Querrey and right away at the Rio Olympics to Juan Martin Del Potro amidst concerns of a slight wrist injury. But a routine first week may have been just what the doctor ordered for Djokovic, who got a walkover from Jiri Vesely and a retirement from Mikhail Youzhny in addition to wins over Jerzy Janowicz and Kyle Edmund. Tsonga has advanced by taking out Guido Andreozzi, James Duckworth, Kevin Anderson, and Jack Sock. The 11th-ranked Frenchman is now a three-time U.S. Open quarterfinalist, but he has never reached the semis. Djokovic raised his level considerably against Edmund, so there is reason to believe he will continue his recent mastery of this matchup.
Pick: Djokovic in 4
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(10) Gael Monfils vs. (24) Lucas Pouille
What a sport tennis is. On Wednesday of the first week, Pouille was one Marco Chiudinelli service hold from losing in the second round in straight sets to an opponent ranked No. 144 in the world. Four days later, Pouille found himself in the quarterfinals of the season’s final Grand Slam after stunning Rafael Nadal in a five-set thriller. The 22-year-old Frenchman’s 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(6) victory marked a third consecutive match in which he went the distance, having previously outlasted Chiudinelli and Roberto Bautista Agut in five (4-6, 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-0 and 3-6, 7-5, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1). Through four rounds, Pouille–who opened with a four-set defeat of Mikhail Kukushkin–has contested 19 of 20 possible sets. The world No. 25 now owns 25 of his 40 career ATP-level match wins this season and he is expected to reach 18th in the rankings even if he loses his next match.
Speaking of five-setters, up next for Pouille on Tuesday is an all-French affair with Monfils. Their only previous showdown came in the first round of last year’s Australian Open, won by Monfils 6-7(3), 3-6, 6-4 6-1, 6-4. The world No. 12 has left the five-set drama this fortnight entirely to his younger countryman; in fact, he has not even surrendered a single set through four rounds. Monfils has maintained his awesome, no-nonsense 2016 form by crushing Gilles Muller, Jan Satral, Nicolas Almagro, and Marcos Baghdatis. His 39-11 record for the year includes the biggest title of his career in Washington, D.C. and it has him in serious World Tour Finals contention. A healthy, motivated Monfils may be the last opponent someone coming off three consecutive five-setters wants to play.
Pick: Monfils in 3
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As expected Lucas was a piece of cake for LaMonf…that’s the way it goes with those who get in the spotlight by beating Rafa…
Honestly, Lucas should have never beaten Rafa…it was Rafa with his exaggerated respect for every opponent instilled back at his young age which put Lucas on the pedestal making him look better than he was..,it was Rafa’s tentative and defensive game which made Lucas seem as extraordinary aggressive player…and finally it was Rafa playing not to lose instead of playing to win…the same old story over and over again…
Yup.
Pretty much dull tennis all day is what it has been…on AA ?
Agree with you there Nat. Rafa is playing with a ‘fear to lose’ or ‘not to lose’ mentality. I do find practising against these players makes him respect their game more than he should.
Rafa’s failure in this winnable match was due to him getting nervous at clutch moments, fearing losing the point to hand the adv to his opponent. The once clutch player that we know has left the house. In the past even when he wasnt playing well he could still fight and win these clutch matches, now even when he’s the better player (at least in three out of five sets) he still managed to lose.
Even in his biography, Rafa said he used fear of losing as a motivation which I’d always found troubling but figured if it worked, it worked. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Well, it’s now broke for over two years (exacerbated admittedly by other extenuating circumstances admittedly but it is a BIG part of the problem IMO).
natashao..your sentence about ‘rafa with his exaggerated respect for every opponent instilled at his young age which put Lucas on the pedestal making him seem better than he was….’
is exactly what i think and have indeed said many times. you put it very well. i don’t see how rafa is going to win slam matches in the future with this mindset. that’s why i have wanted him so much to see a sports pschologist, mind coach whatever they call it to try and change this way of thinking. because until it stops or is modified then i don’t see that anything that is done on the practice court is going to help. actually i wish he would practice less and spare his body.
Rafa knows at least one sports psychologist pretty well.
According to a Rafan, the older man Rafa is talking to and taking a picture with after the 35-second mark in the video below, is a sports psychologist (Pablo del Río).
https://youtu.be/_a-WwV37bRg
Pablo del Río has a photo of Rafa at the entrance of his office in Madrid:
http://elpaissemanal.elpais.com/confidencias/pablo-del-rio-el-divan-olimpico/?id_externo_rsoc=TW_CC
Getting the feeling that Nole is playing possum. Every once in awhile he lets his true form show (and it’s very good) but he’s trying to do as little as possible and still win. And Tsonga’s unable or unwilling to put much into it.
ho hum.
I wonder about Novak. He really did not lion good in his first match. Then he got a walkover and a retirement. I do think he called for the trainer in the match with Edmunds. But maybe not playing much as what he needed if he was having some lingering problem.
I think Novak knows what he has to do to beat Tsonga. He seems pretty comfortable out there. Tsonga is helping of course by just hitting balls and not really pressuring Novak.
I do think that Novak is doing just enough to win, maybe feeling as though he doesn’t have to push himself to beat Tsonga.
Makes for disappointing tennis — no chemistry or fire in their bellies tennis. The most interesting moment is the MTO.
Ho hum indeed.
Ho hum is right! This was not a great night for tennis!
Better luck with the matches tomorrow, right?
Hope Kei can put up a fight, Pliskova, Halep…Delpo and Stan.
Or just give up, order ESPN3 and watch juniors…
Whoa, all anti- climatic matches we have today. Even for the two matches that were without injuries, there were just no sparks, the ‘losers’ lost tamely! What a day for tennis, this one!