It will be an all French final at the $1.024mn Qatar ExxonMobil Open here at the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex today.
A charged-up Gael Monfils shocked top seed Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-4 to set up a title clash with compatriot and third seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who did not have to break sweat as his opponent and defending champion Roger Federer pulled out with a bad back.
Though the fans would have been disappointed to miss out on the Federer’s semi-final action, the match between World No 2 Nadal and fourth seed Monfils exceeded all expectations.
Nadal, making his third straight semi-final appearance in Doha, has never won the title here and once again had to return empty handed. Last year Nadal lost in the semis and had reached the final two years ago. On both occasions, he had crashed out to Russia’s Nicolay Davydenko. For Monfils, this would be the second final appearance here in Doha. His best result was a runner-up place in 2006, losing to Federer.
Monfils, who had lost eight of the nine previous matches against the World No 2, seemed in fine touch right from the start. He kept troubling Nadal with his sheer pace on shots, phenomenal backhand returns and even managed more height on his shots. In the first set, Nadal too was able to swing away more freely with his ground strokes and moved much better than his opponent. However, the Frenchman got the better of Nadal once he broke him with a fine down the line return from the lone break point he managed in the first set. The 25-yr-old then held his serve in the seventh and eighth games without much of a bother to win the first set.
As expected, Nadal, known for his fighting qualities, came back strongly in the second set. He shot to a 4-1 lead after breaking Monfils in the second game. However, just when one felt that the Spaniard would walk away with the set in no time and force the match into the decider, Monfils hit back hard.The Frenchman on the trot hit 19 consecutive first serves in play and broke Nadal in back-to-back games to go 5-4 ahead. Though Nadal saved two match points in the 10th game, Monfils made sure not to miss out on the third one to seal the set and the match in an hour and 36 minutes.
With this victory, Monfils also ended a five-match losing streak to Nadal. Monfils’ last success against Nadal also came here in Doha quarter-finals three years back.
“Well, I just think I play my game, you know. Like I say, you know, every time it’s something different and that today was another day and different condition.
“I think last night, I played a good match and I felt very good. I knew today I had to be at the top of my game because against Rafa, you need to take advantage of every shot you can make. So I just focused on my game and was aggressive. Then everything worked,” said a beaming Monfils.
