Gael Monfils ousts David Ferrer as play resumes on Day 9 – French Open 2011
Local Gael “La Monf” Monfils ousted Spaniard David Ferrer in a fourth round seeded battle as play resumed on Day 9. Having started their fourth round match on Sunday, May 29th, the pair was forced to stop when the chair umpire called off play for the day due to bad light.
The French took almost four hours to secure a 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, 1-6, 8-6 victory to move on ahead into the quarterfinals of the 2011 Roland Garros.
Playing in their third match on tour, Monfils leads the head-to-head 2-0. Their first meeting had come in 2008 when the pair met for the quarterfinal match at the Roland Garros. Monfils had then emerged as victorious in four sets.
However, this time around the 2011 Australian Open semi-finalist and a finalist at Monte Carlo and Barcelona, Ferrer was in full form to take on the French and put up a fight to the end.
A slow start to the match, the Spaniard lost the first set 4-6 as Monfils riding the local crowd support raced to a one set lead. Hitting twenty winners including four aces, La Monf recorded an 88% win on his first serve to go one up in the set score.
Putting up a fight in the second set, Ferrer reversed the tables on the Frenchman in the second set to clinch a 6-2 win.
With one set win each, both players put up a commendable fight in the third set to get an edge over each other. Matching blow for blow, both players kept the scoreboard ticking on even terms. Breaking Ferrer in the eleventh game, Monfils served out the set at 6-5 to go 2-0 in the set score. In a set that lasted almost an hour, Monfils hit fourteen winners to clinch a total of 40 points.
Bouncing back in the fourth set, Ferrer rushed to an early 2-0 lead, before play was called off for the day. Resuming play on Monday, a refreshed Ferrer carried over his form as he broke Monfils twice to clinch a breadstick victory and tie the set score at 2-2.
A tense and exhilarating matchup, the pair entered the decider. An early break put Monfils in a 3-1 lead which he extended to serve out the set at 5-3. However, a resilient Ferrer saved two match points to break the Frenchman and tie the score at 5-5. The set was poised to become a long set. Receiving at 6-7, Monfils hit well placed winners and forcing errors on Ferrer, clinched the final set 8-6 to move into his third quarterfinal here.
Monfils moves on ahead to play Swiss maestro Roger Federer. Federer moved into the quarterfinal after doing away with compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka in straight sets in the fourth round.
Tags: