No. 1 Djokovic overcomes heat, oddities to beat Monfils and reach U.S. Open final
NEW YORK – Drop shots, ripped shirts, shoulder massages, Coca-Cola cans and more—it was all part of a dizzying display of tennis during the first U.S. Open men’s semifinal between Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils on Friday.
The spectacle on court rattled the Arthur Ashe crowd, the players and surely all who were watching at home. But in the end, top-seeded Djokovic advanced to his seventh U.S. Open final, beating No. 10-seed Monfils 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in one of the most unusual contests of the tournament. Tennis fans are no stranger to entertainment in matches involving Monfils, but typically the show involves the Frenchman and his racquet.
Djokovic, playing in his 10th-straight semifinal at the U.S. Open, raced out to a quick 5-0 lead after just 18 minutes. But Monfils, who had not dropped a set at the U.S. Open this year coming into the match, avoided the quick first-set bagel to get on the board. The Frenchman’s body language and lackadaisical play made it seem like he was trying to tank the game with Djokovic serving up 5-1, but the Serb didn’t let him, hitting several errors of his own to give Monfils the break. Ultimately, Djokovic was able to serve out the set despite Monfils’ strange strategy, which John McEnroe describe on air as "one of the greatest lack of efforts in a men’s semifinal I’ve ever seen.”
Djokovic cruised in the second set, winning in 29 minutes as Monfils hit 11 unforced errors to Djokovic’s one.
The third set proved to be a lot less straightforward. After Djokovic broke Monfils to open the set and secured a 2-0 lead, Monfils went on to win the next five games to go up 5-2. On the changeover, Djokovic called the trainer out to massage his left shoulder, but he was able to hold his serve and put the pressure back on Monfils to win the set. From 0-40 down and serving for the set, Monfils saved three break points and earn a set point and force a fourth set with a backhand winner.
In the fourth set, the conditions—a late afternoon start with 96-degree temperatures on court with more than 50% humidity—seemed to affect both players. At one point, Monfils ordered a can of Coca-Cola in hopes of supplying some energy, while Djokovic grabbed a snack to refuel after double faulting to give Monfils the break for 3-2.
— doublefault28 (@doublefault28) September 9, 2016
Shortly after, Djokovic took a medical timeout as trainer worked on his right shoulder and Monfils briefly left the court.
In the end, after two hours and 32 minutes, Djokovic battled through the heat—and the oddities of the match—to close out a four-sets win and advance to the final, where he’ll look to become the first back-to-back U.S. Open winner since Federer in 2007-08. He’ll face the winner of Friday’s second semifinal match between No. 3-seed Stan Wawrinka and No. 6-seed Kei Nishikori.
This article originally appeared on 
