Gael Monfils stuns Philipp Kohlschreiber to enter quarters – Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2013
French contender, Gael Monfils, surprised everyone by shocking the third seed, Philipp Kohlschreiber, in a three-set thriller at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2013 on Wednesday. He summed up a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory against the German to power into the quarter-finals
at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series event taking place in Doha, Qatar.
The French star stayed focused throughout the tournament and eventually overpowered Kohlschreiber in their ninth encounter. After stealing the show in two hours and three minutes, Monfils improved to an 8-1 record in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series against
the world number 20 and secured a place in the last eight.
Monfils commented in a courtside interview after bagging this match, “In the start, he was very aggressive. And honestly, I was a bit scared because I saw the ball going very fast, and I was expecting long rallies. I had to adapt, change my tactic. And that's
why I think I became more aggressive. I tried to play a bit more loopy in the end to give me time and make him play up there, because he had very, very clean winners when I was playing under his belt.”
The 26-year-old assertively entered the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. He smoothly plucked his entire serves without facing any real challenge. Monfils got the breakthrough in the last game after cashing one out of four break opportunities
and subsequently sealed the opener by winning six games to four.
The German number one made a fitting reply in the proceeding set. He got the coveted break in the opening game and took the initial lead. Kohlschreiber availed another break chance in the fifth game and leaped to a 5-1 lead. He slid his serve once again
and consequently pocketed the equaliser with a 6-2 score line.
Ranked 77th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Monfils re-gained his strength in the final set. He swiftly bagged his entire serves with poise. The French got the desiderated break in the last game and clicked the decider with
a 6-4 win.
Next in queue for Monfils is the German qualifier, Daniel Brands, who bounced back to outsmart Egypt’s Mohamed Safwat in three-sets to set up this meeting.
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