WATCH | Gael Monfils saves 3 match points to secure a win
Gael Monfils was at his exceptional best in the last and deciding tie breaker set against Kei Nishikori in the round of 32 at the ongoing Rogers Cup. Not only did the Frenchman manage to save three match points he finally also managed to convert a match point of his own with some power hitting.
The round of 32 encounter between Kei Nishikori and Gael Monfils was a neck-and-neck affair until the very end. Nishikori bagged the first set after toiling hard and winning it in the tie breaker but Monfils clawed back into the game winning the second set in yet another tie breaker with the scoreboard reading 7-6(7-4) 5-7.
After battling hard and forcing the third set in the tiebreaker it seemed as if Monfils was on his way to a loss but the Frenchman had other ideas. With Nishikori, just one point away from victory and Monfils trailing 3-6 in the tiebreaker, a win for the World No.22 seemed impossible, but the 30-year old managed a stunning comeback as he showed some exceptional grit and resistant.
The only advantage Monfils had over the Japanese at this stage was his serve but he did not start well as Nishikori easily returned the serve. After a series of baseline forehands were exchanged, Nishikori fired the ball to Monfils' right who was seen lurking on the extreme left of his half of the court and it looked as if the fate of the game was sealed. But Monfils covered a great amount of distance before returning the ball brilliantly and sealed the point as he caught the Japenese in no man's land.
The following serve by the Frenchman ended up being perfect as Nishikori hit the ball out earning Monfils his 5th point while also saving a second match point.
Suddenly out of nowhere, the possibility of Monfils going through to the round of 16 did not look like a far-fetched idea and the 30-year old took another step towards the win when as drew level with Nishikori at 6-6.
Nishikori, on the other hand, was under immense pressure which was evident as he failed to score off an easy chance by hitting the ball beyond the baseline to further enhance Monfils' chances of winning. And after that, it was just a matter of time before Monfils sealed the game in his favour and he did it on the very next serve when he fired in an unplayable forehand return to advance to the round of 16 of the Rogers Cup.
Watch Monfils' incredible comeback here:
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