Impossible to think that he didn’t believe it. By equalizing to a set everywhere against Jannik Sinner (N.8) on the hard Toronto, in the early morning this Saturday, Gaël Monfils had to glimpse the light of the semi-final. But the Frenchman, 276th in the standings at the start of the tournament, finally bowed (6-4, 4-6, 6-3) arms in hand, crowning with a fine encounter a week that took on the air of a comeback.
Broken at 5-4 in the first set, when he had not returned anything to his opponent of the evening, Monfils could have collapsed; not the Toronto Monfils. Always helped by his service (19 aces), the French even erased a late break in the second set to push the Italian towards a decisive set, where the lack of freshness was inevitably felt.
Precision workshop: Monfils and Sinner play with the lines, the Frenchman has the last word
Like a match point almost masterfully saved after a sweep from the baseline, Monfils was not far from a new feat. This is what, at 37, in the quarter-finals of a Masters 1000, in front of a player to whom he gives 268 places in the ATP ranking, is already a great satisfaction.
Paul pays Alcaraz
Jannik Sinner will face the astonishing Tommy Paul, crusher in the night of Carlos Alcaraz, to glean a place in the final in Toronto. The American, seeded N.12 in Canada, got the better of the Spaniard in three sets (6-3, 4-6, 6-3). Like last year in Toronto, Alcaraz did not find the key against the aggressive play of Paul, who had in mind not to make the points last.
A defeat but one of the points of the tournament: the crazy tweener from Alcaraz
Already in difficulty in the previous round against Hubert Hurkacz, Alcaraz did not erase the small slag from his game. He was notably guilty of 6 double faults, and conceded 10 break points in total. Unusual figures that reflect a slight decline in form this week in North America. So much the better for the suspense, since an unexpected new winner will be crowned this year in Canada.
Paul did it again at Alcaraz: the summary