Gael Monfils, the World No. 20, was overjoyed with his performance in the Sofia semifinal against Marcos Giron. Monfils, seeded No. 2, advanced to the Sofia final by defeating world No. 67 Giron 7-5, 6-2.
“It was a great match,” Monfils said, as per reports on ATP Tour.
“At the beginning, Marcos was playing very solid. I could not find the exit door and at the end I found it. I am very happy as I was very solid. It was a very physical match with lots of long rallies. I am very happy to get through.”
Monfils didn’t like how Giron dictated the pace of the game, so he wanted to make some adjustments on the court.
“I felt in his rhythm he was crushing the ball, so I wanted to change the speed a little and come to the net a little bit and step in,” he further added.
“Just mix it up a little bit and I think that was key for me.”
Monfils was focused throughout
Giron got out to a strong start, breaking Monfils in the sixth game to take a 3-2 lead. In the sixth game, Giron saved two consecutive break points after breaking Monfils to take a 4-2 lead.
Monfils, on the other hand, remained focused as he broke Giron in the eighth game to tie the set at four games apiece.
After the first ten games, the two players were deadlocked at five games apiece, but Monfils broke the tie with four consecutive breaks and won eight games in a row to complete the match in style.
Monfils stated before the match that he will not take Giron for granted.
“Nothing is easy, we have been putting in work for nearly four days here. Working on my serve and my forehand and it worked perfectly today. I will be ready for Marcos. He has been playing very well, so I think it will be a tough semi-final,” Monfils said after his quarterfinal win.
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