Top ATP Comebacks 2020: When Novak Djokovic rallied from the brink of defeat to deny Gael Monfils his first victory over him
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Novak Djokovic, Gael Monfils
One of the most historic comebacks came about earlier this year at the Dubai Tennis Championships. Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils produced quite the spectacle in the semi-final in Dubai which constituted as their 17th meeting on the ATP Tour.
Monfils entered the arena looking to claim his maiden victory over Djokovic. Further, Gael is often cited as the fastest player on tour. This skill, paired with his general mastery over each aspect of the sport deems it quite shocking that his head-to-head record against Nole is 0-17.
Djokovic vs Monfils: The Duo’s 17th Battle
The Frenchman looked quite clutch in the first set. He deployed his tactics successfully. Within the first five games, Monfils had already started to turn in his bag of tricks. He hit a jumping swinging backhand volley and was successful in navigating through Novak’s chances to earn points through drop-shots. Monfils claimed the first set 6-2, while a haggard Djokovic’s 16-match winning streak looked in jeopardy.
The Serb was committing quite an array of unforced errors. Monfils didn’t take lightly to anything and tried to capitalise on each chance he got. The World No.11 was constantly channeling a different gear to put pressure on his adversary. Soon thereafter, Monfils was 6-2, 3-1 up.
Djokovic ultimately found his rhythm and levelled the playing field. His efforts extended the second set to a tie-break. Again, Nole went on his back foot, part of which was due to Monfils’ agility. The Frenchman found himself with a golden opportunity when he earned three match points at 6-3 in the breaker.
Whilst reflecting on being in this position, Djokovic later stated, “It’s all or nothing. It’s a matter of life or death at that point.”
The match came down to Monfils’ racquet. One ace, and he’d earn his first victory over Djokovic in extreme fashion. However, Novak repeated the history of Wimbledon 2019 final.
Even though Gael succeeded in hitting a huge serve, Nole, being the ‘greatest returner of all time,’ hit the forehand which resulted in a backhand error from Monfils. The Frenchman lost the next two points in a blink on account of missing two forehands. Djokovic claimed the second set 7-6(8).
Monfils had thrown in the entirety of his stamina in hopes to convert one of the three match points he had. Subsequently, the Serb claimed the third set, and with it, another victory over Monfils 2-6, 7-6, 6-1. The World No.1 went on claim the title after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.
A single ace or an error caused by minimal margins could’ve changed the outlook of this epic battle.
Watch the highlights here:
Also Read: The Biggest Tennis Controversies of 2020
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