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Federer-Monfils

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Webster, Sep 4, 2014.

  1. Webster

    Webster Well-Known Member

    This is some pretty great stuff. Federer comes back to win the 3rd and 4th sets, saving 2 match points down 4-5 in the 4th.

    5th set starting shortly.
     
    Webster, Sep 4, 2014
    #1
  2. Webster

    Webster Well-Known Member

    5th set less dramatic. Monfils is basically turned into Nuke LaLoosh.
     
    Webster, Sep 4, 2014
    #2
  3. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Great match. Surprised there wasn't more discussion on here.

    Monfils really crumbled. I love him -- he may be my favorite player outside of the top 4. He is the best athlete on the tour. But he has no focus. Understatement, right?

    He had Federer to that double match point in the fourth, and he was the one who looked panicked while Federer looked composed. He totally fell apart after he didn't close it out. Double faults. Lazy play. Once it got to the fifth set, you knew it wasn't going to be close anymore. And you didn't have to wait long. Federer broke him first game. Federer's game just got stronger when he realized he had Monfils on the ropes. That is one Monfils won't recover from soon. What a strange guy. Always talking to himself. Drinking coke during the match. You could almost see that Federer figured if he hung in there, he knew that Monfils would self destruct. Monfils will never win a major -- and yet he is probably the most talented player out there. He had Federer on his heels early with how unpredictable he is. His serve is nasty and he is so damned fast on the court.

    What can you say about Federer? Getting all the way down to double match point and coming back and closing it out in 5. He's not my favorite player, but I am going to miss him when he is gone. We've been watching greatness.
     
    The Big Ragu, Sep 5, 2014
    #3
  4. Webster

    Webster Well-Known Member

    Federer did not have a great match for the most part -- he had a ton of unforced errors. But boy did he turn it on when he needed to.

    Monfils seemed mentally imbalanced the way that he was mumbling and shouting to himself after every point. He also tried some shots that were just stupid and was missing shots by 3+ feet.

    And Monfils just folded the tent after Federer fought off the two match points. In the 5th set, he had awful body language.
     
    Webster, Sep 5, 2014
    #4
  5. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    I have seen Monfils play live a couple of times. I always figured him for a free spirit, not mentally unbalanced. But my sister was at his match against Dimitrov, sitting courtside, and her comment to me the next day was that there is something not right about him. When I said the "free spirit" thing to her, she said, "No. I have seen that look before. ... on the psych ward." She is an MD. I think she was kidding a little, but not totally.

    Yeah, his body language sucked in the 5th set. It was so frustrating, because I really wanted to see a fight. That is the difference at that level -- Nadal blew a chance to close out Federer at Wimbledon, but instead of dwelling, he turned the momentum back and took the fifth set. So much of that game is being mentally strong. Nadal has it. Federer has it. For the longest time Djokovic struggled with that, but once he conquered his head, he reached their level. Monfils is a lost cause, unfortunately, because I really love watching him play tennis.
     
    The Big Ragu, Sep 5, 2014
    #5
  6. mateen

    mateen Well-Known Member

    During the first two sets, I was trying to figure out how it was possible that Monfils has only made it past the quarters of a Grand Slam event once. And in the fifth set, it became all too apparent why that's the case. It was hard to watch someone who clearly was convinced he was going to lose, and didn't really seem to care. You got the sense Brad Gilbert, who was announcing, wanted to run on to the court and smack Monfils in the head for wasting the kind of physical talent Gilbert only dreamed of possessing in his playing days.
     
    mateen, Sep 5, 2014
    #6
  7. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    So he's the Mark Langston of tennis?
     
    Songbird, Sep 5, 2014
    #7
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