Monfils Shocks Federer in Shanghai, to Face Djokovic in Quarters
October 10, 2013 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal
It took France’s Gael Monfils a little over two hours, but he was successful in upsetting the number five seed Roger Federer, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3 on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2013 Shanghai Rolex Masters. Federer had held a 6-1 lifetime record over Monfils. Federer is battling to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for the 12th consecutive year
"It’s a good win for me,” said Monfils. “I feel a bit sorry for him because I know he’s running for London. But it’s tennis. He’s going to have more opportunity those weeks coming up."
Monfils advances to face the top-seeded and defending champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, after Djokovic’s 6-3, 6-3 win over Fabio Fognini. Monfils is 0-8 lifetime against Djokovic. Djokovic won 79 percent of first serve points and didn’t face a break point during the match, which lasted just one hour and 10 minutes. He extended his unbeaten streak against Fognini to 6-0. It will be Djokovic’s 48th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarterfinal.
"Monfils, from I watched, was the better player on the court and he deserved to win," said Djokovic of his quarterfinals opponent. "He’s always tricky when he serves big, as big as he served today. I think, he’s one of the most interesting tennis players to watch because he’s so athletic, he’s so fast, he moves around the court well. He’s somebody that feeds off the energy of the crowd. He loves to play big matches on a big stage."
