On Now
Weekdays 12:00 - 15:00
At Lunch Pulane
NEXT: 15:00 - 18:00 The Joyride with Nico, Nikki, Kayla and JayBee
Listen Live Streams

Tennis

Rafa quells Gael force

───   08:51 Tue, 24 Jan 2017

Rafa quells Gael force | News Article
Rafael Nadal - Cameron Spencer

In a tournament where chaos has reigned, Rafael Nadal's win over Gael Monfils restored a semblance of order.


“Comfort in the familiar” is a phrase that pertains strongly to tennis.

Perhaps it’s why the sport’s legends are so revered, and invited back each year to contest exhibition events at the majors. It’s probably why fans gravitate so strongly to anything featuring Roger Federer on social media. It could explain why Serena Williams, once a polarising figure, has become increasingly beloved as her career has endured and her tennis CV flourishes.

There was perhaps some comfort, too, to be derived from Rafael Nadal’s four-set victory over world No.6 Gael Monfils in the Australian Open fourth round on Monday night at Rod Laver Arena.

For almost every conceivable element of the match felt familiar.

The 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-4 win showcased the Spaniard’s legendary forehand and speed, Monfils’ flashy – and often ill-advised – shotmaking, and a herculean mental effort from Nadal to halt Monfils’ surging momentum just as the match looked poised to extend to a fifth set.

It also restored a sense of order to the tennis world. This order is something fans have become accustomed to in the years – beginning way back in 2005 – since Nadal became a perennial Grand Slam champion and Big Four force.

With the victory, Nadal is back in a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time in almost two years. The result ended a four-match losing streak against top-10 opponents. It handed him his first victory over a top-10 player at a major tournament since Roland Garros in 2014. And it continued his dominance of Monfils; their head-to-head now stands at a lopsided 13-2.

“It means a lot because I really start the season playing quarterfinals in a Grand Slam again, especially on hard court after a couple of years without being in this round is great news,” he said.

“Very happy with an important victory against a very good opponent.”

For the first two sets on Monday night, Nadal made that “very good opponent” look second-rate.

He’d been refreshingly honest in discussing his recent battles with form and confidence, yet looked assured as he took the initiative in rallies and constantly bullied Monfils about the court with his heavy forehand.

Although there were glimpses of the Frenchman’s brilliance, he couldn’t hang with Nadal; he coughed up 25 errors in the first two sets and found himself down two-sets-to-love in 83 minutes.

The third set was a credit to the new-and-improved Monfils, who in 2016 rose to a career-high ranking and reached the US Open semifinals, the Monte Carlo Masters final, won the title at Washington DC and who reached quarterfinals at the Australian Open, Rio Olympics, Indian Wells and Miami. He committed to an aggressive, forceful approach – averaging 20km/h faster on his forehand in the early stages of the third set compared to the first – and was rewarded.

That set was also emblematic of Nadal’s recent struggles, the kind that had led to that unfortunate recent record against top-10 opponents and premature exits at major events. His forehand fell shorter and shorter in the court, and there was concern etched on his face.

When Monfils crushed an ace at 224km/h and then a forehand winner on the next point in the final game of the third set, Nadal was mired in a struggle.

In the fourth set, he overcame it. Monfils continued to zone, ending a 32-stroke rally with a forehand passing shot – which sent the crowd into a frenzy – on his way to breaking for a 3-2 lead. But Nadal broke back for 4-4 when Monfils lapsed into errors, and resoundingly held serve to love in the very next game.

Leading 5-4, Nadal had won eight points in a row, and had Monfils rattled.

In the final game, the Frenchman produced three forehand errors, a double fault and a backhand error to hand the 14-time Grand Slam champion victory.

Next up, Nadal faces No.3 seed Milos Raonic for a spot in the semifinals.

“I need to be very focused with my serve and play aggressively. If I am not playing aggressive, then I am dead, because he plays aggressive,” Nadal said.

“In Brisbane (two weeks ago) he beat me. But at the same time it is true that I have been close.”

Should he get past Raonic, the Spaniard would be one step closer to an almost inconceivable Australian Open decider against Federer, who has advanced to the quarterfinals on the other side of the draw and next faces the unseeded Mischa Zverev.

A Nadal v Federer final? That’s as familiar as it gets.

Matt Trollope/Australian Open


@ 2024 OFM - All rights reserved Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | We Use Cookies - OFM is a division of Central Media Group (PTY) LTD.