Novak Djokovic vs. Gael Monfils – QF Preview: Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2011
World number one, Novak Djokovic, will square off against French number two, Gael Monfils, at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2011, a professional world tennis exhibition event taking place on the outdoor hard courts in
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Thursday. The winner of the match will set-up a date with 16 times Grand Slam titlist, Roger Federer, in the semi-finals the other day.
Serbian number one, Djokovic, is making his first appearance at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex at Zayed Sports City and is eyeing to re-create his magic in this tournament. He started off the season as the world number
three in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings and went on a 42-match unbeaten run, levelling to John McEnroe’s record. Regardless of losing his streak by Federer in the semi-finals of Roland Garros, Djokovic bounced back and clinched his first
Wimbledon and US Open titles, upsetting Rafael Nadal in both final. Overall he won ten titles this season and lost only six matches, including two where he was forced to retire due to an injury.
“This season has been very special as I’ve probably played the best tennis of my life, but I remain focused on the future and continuing my form into next season starting with Abu Dhabi. Obviously a tournament of real quality
to begin the season is vital for building early momentum and the MWTC is the perfect place to start,” the excited Serb told the reporters.
Regardless of an exceptional season, fatigue and injuries caused a huge blow at the end of the year. He lost his last two round robin matches (at the hands of David Ferrer and Janko Tipsarevic) at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals
and exited from the event with disappointment.
In his last match against Tipsarevic, the Serb fired eight aces and clobbered an acceptable first serve share of 65 percent. He also registered an impressive 75 percent win on it but cashed in only half of the four break chances.
Adding further to his misery, Djokovic saved only three out of seven breakpoints he came across and eventually registered a 6-3, 3-6, 3-6 loss.
The rising star, Monfils, on the other hand also reached his career best rank at number seven this July. However, he ended the season standing at number 16 in the ATP rankings. Mustering his season further, he was crowned at the
If Stockholm Open (battling past Finn Jarkko Nieminen) and made a final showdown at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic (fell to Czech Radek Stepanek) and Kooyong ATP Exhibition event (lost to Aussie Lleyton Hewitt).
The French star lost to Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in the opening round of the Paris Masters 1000 event, the last ATP tournament he played. He smashed twelve fiery aces but saved only one out of three breakpoints he faced and failed
to cash any of the five break opportunities, subsequently suffering a 3-6, 4-6 defeat in 81 minutes.
Overall, Djokovic leads the French 8-0 in the head-to-head series, including two quarter-final wins this season (at the Montreal and Cincinnati Masters 1000 events). The Serb formulated a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 success over Monfils on their
last encounter.
The Serbian number one is now fully recovered, both physically and psychologically, and is bidding to re-kindle his spark. He needs to focus on his defensive skills and is expected to register a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over Monfils.
Tags: