Monfils pulls off miracle after tank backfires

Gael Monfils of France gestures during his match against Thiemo De Bakker of the Netherlands at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 17, 2011

Photo: Reuters

Frenchman Gael Monfils completed a great escape in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday after his opponent paid the price for 'tanking' the fourth set.

Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker had led by two sets and 5-3 but Monfils returned from the brink of elimination by pulling off a 6-7 2-6 7-5 6-2 6-1 win in Melbourne.

"I saw he was tanking in the fourth set," Monfils told reporters. "I thought maybe if I break early, he would tank to get ready for the fifth."

The 12th seed added: "I know Thiemo a bit. Sometime he snaps in the head.

“We know he can snap. It's a weakness for him. So you play with that.

"Before the match my coach (Roger Rasheed) told me Thiemo is not a big believer. When I saw that, you get it," added the Frenchman, snapping his fingers. "So you tank and be ready in the fifth, because I will."

Monfils, who has never gone beyond the last 16 in the year's first grand slam, called it one of the best wins of his career after surviving a humiliating early exit.

"I just tried to hold and believe in myself and try to think about simple things, like moving a bit faster and moving my legs more and just fire up a bit," he said.

"Then it actually turned a bit and Thiemo got tight. I'd be happier to win in three sets but a couple of years ago I would have been, like, 'Okay, I'm done' in three sets.

"I think it's the first time I have come back from two sets down and a break. It's a great win."

De Bakker blamed a tight groin for his sudden meltdown.

"At 4-1 in the third, when I went for a ball, (pain) came a little bit in my groin," said the world number 47. "From that moment I had problems to play rallies and to serve.

"The only thing I could do is hopefully get better in the fourth or to let it go a little bit when I was a break down and hope it went better in the fifth.

"I wanted to fight but it wasn't possible. The body says no. There's not much I can do."

Other men's singles results (prefix number denotes seeding)

28-Richard Gasquet (France) beat Frank Dancevic (Canada) 6-3 6-4 6-4

Tommy Robredo (Spain) beat Somdev Devvarman (India) 7-6(4) 6-3 6-4

19-Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) beat Teymuraz Gabashvili (Russia) 7-6(3) 6-4 6-4

29-Viktor Troicki (Serbia) beat Dmitry Tursunov (Russia) 6-2 3-6 6-2 6-0

6-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) beat Marco Crugnola (Italy) 6-4 6-0 6-2

Igor Andreev (Russia) beat Filippo Volandri (Italy) 6-3 7-6(3) 6-3

Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) beat Tobias Kamke (Germany) 1-6 4-6 7-6(6) 6-4 6-4

Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) beat Andrey Golubev (Kazakhstan) 6-1 6-4 6-2

25-Albert Montanes (Spain) beat Dustin Brown (Germany) 6-4 6-2 3-6 2-6 7-5

Nicolas Mahut (France) beat Brian Dabul (Argentina) 6-3 6-4 6-4

8-Andy Roddick (US) beat Jan Hajek (Czech Republic) 6-1 6-2 6-2

2-Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat Lukas Lacko (Slovakia) 6-1 6-1 6-3

Florian Mayer (Germany) beat 23-Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) 6-3 4-6 7-6(4) 6-4

16-Mardy Fish (US) beat Victor Hanescu (Romania) 2-6 4-6 6-3 7-5 6-3

Xavier Malisse (Belgium) beat Pablo Andujar (Spain) 6-1 6-2 7-6(3)

Frederico Gil (Portugal) beat Pablo Cuevas (Uruguay) 6-4 6-7(7) 4-6 6-3 9-7

Adrian Mannarino (France) beat Ryan Harrison (U.S.) 6-4 6-3 6-4

Lukasz Kubot (Poland) beat 18-Sam Querrey (U.S.) 5-7 6-2 3-6 6-1 8-6

12-Gael Monfils (France) beat Thiemo de Bakker (Netherlands) 6-7(5) 2-6 7-5 6-2 6-1

Igor Kunitsyn (Russia) beat Michal Przysiezny (Poland) 6-7(1) 6-4 6-4 7-6(6)

Kei Nishikori (Japan) beat Fabio Fognini (Italy) 6-1 6-4 6-7(4) 6-4

Juan Monaco (Argentina) beat Simon Greul (Germany) 7-6(5) 7-6(4) 6-2

Robin Haase (Netherlands) beat Carlos Berlocq (Argentina) 6-4 6-3 7-6(5)

Sergiy Stakhovsky (Ukraine) beat Daniel Brands (Germany) 6-2 6-3 6-4

US tennis Open showdown nears for Federer, Soderling

Robin Soderling of Sweden returns the ball to Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands at the US Open 2010 tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City

Photo: AFP

NEW YORK – Roger Federer and Robin Soderling moved closer to a US Open quarter-final showdown with straight-set triumphs on a blustery Saturday that also saw Novak Djokovic reach the fourth round.

French Open runner-up Soderling broke 16-time Grand Slam champion Federer's streak of 23 Grand Slam semi-finals in a row with a quarter-final triumph on the Paris red clay over the Swiss superstar who had won their 12 prior matches.

Swedish fifth seed Soderling, who lost the Roland Garros final to top-ranked Rafael Nadal, and world number two Federer each need one more victory to book a rematch on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts after third-round triumphs.

"Everybody has been telling me since the draw came out I'm playing Roger in the quarters. It's still far ahead," Soderling said.

"It's always difficult to play against Roger and I have played him a lot of times. In any tournament they play, Roger and Rafa will be the favorites, but there are a lot of players who can beat them."

Five-time US Open winner Federer hit 13 aces and 31 winners in brisk winds that tested even his formidable skill to down 109th-ranked Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, and reach the last 16.

"The wind was very strong. Tough conditions to play in, especially if you're down in the score," Federer said. "You could tell Mathieu was really struggling after being down. His serve, his returns, everything kind of falls into pieces.

"It's really hard to stay positive when you're down and the wind is the way it is. You have to be careful, maybe not aim at the lines as much. After four games or so, I knew what I could do and what I couldn't."

Soderling beat 48th-ranked Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 in gusty conditions that were remnants from Hurricane Earl's nearby brush a day earlier.

"It was very tough. I was fighting the wind the whole time. During these conditions I played a pretty good match," Soderling said. "It's great to make it to the second week at the US Open. It will be very big next week."

Also advancing to the fourth round was Serbian third seed Djokovic, who eliminated US wildcard James Blake 6-1, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to book a date with US 19th seed Mardy Fish.

"It felt like Hurricane Earl came to the center court. It was incredible," Djokovic said. "It was a big mental struggle just to stay on the court and stay focused. If James had won the second set it could have been a different match."

Federer, trying for his seventh US Open final in a row, next faces Austrian 13th seed Jurgen Melzer, whom Federer ousted in this year's fourth round at Wimbledon in their only prior meeting.

Soderling will meet Spanish 21st seed Albert Montanes, who led 6-2, 2-1 when 147th-ranked Japanese qualifier Kei Nishikori retired after only 38 minutes with a groin injury.

"He was not well physically so that was lucky for me," Montanes said. "I realized he was very flat. He was not moving. I tried not to think of that but he was moving quite slowly."

Federer, seeking his 64th career title, had won 40 US Open matches in a row before losing last year's final to now-injured Juan Martin Del Potro.

Federer saved a break point on a service winner in the eighth game and broke on an errant Mathieu backhand in the ninth to win the first set and took the second when Mathieu double faulted away breaks in the third and last games.

"The first set was key," Federer said. "After that I was able to break it back and break his will a little bit."

Federer broke Mathieu in the sixth game of the last set, then saved three breaks points in the final game and held to win in 99 minutes.

Melzer beat Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 to book a date with Federer.

"I really enjoyed the way I played," Melzer said. "I was really on top of him and really had the momentum going."

Montanes claimed his first spot in the fourth round in 36 Grand Slam trips. He was among nine Spaniards in the third round, the most at any Open-era Slam.

French 17th seed Gael Monfils fired 17 aces and 56 winners to beat Serbia's 44th-ranked Janko Tipsarevic 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 6-4.

Monfils booked a fourth-round match with countryman Richard Gasquet, who ousted South African Kevin Anderson 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 7-5. Monfils and Gasquet each matched their best US Open result by reaching the fourth round.

Cap: Robin Soderling of Sweden returns the ball to Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands at the US Open 2010 tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City

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