Djokovic saves 3 match points vs Monfils to make Dubai final

Associated PressFeb 28, 2020, 3:52 PM EST

AP Photo

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Novak Djokovic saved three consecutive match points to beat Gael Monfils on Friday and set up a Dubai Championships final showdown against Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Monfils led 6-3 in the second-set tiebreaker but Djokovic saved all three match points as his forehand forced errors.

Djokovic converted his eighth set point when Monfils double-faulted. He cruised the rest of the way, winning 2-6, 7-6 (8), 6-1.

“It’s like being on the edge of a cliff,” Djokovic said about the match points. “You know there is no way back so you have to jump over and try to find a way to survive I guess and pray for the best and believe that you can make it, that there is something that is going to help you.

“That’s one of the things that I feel at the moment. OK, one point away, one shot away. There is no going back. This is it. I accept the situation and try to make the most out of it.”

Djokovic extended a couple of winning streaks: 20 on the tour dating to the Davis Cup Finals in November, and 17-0 against Monfils on the main tour.

Meanwhile, defeat brought an end to Monfils’ career-best 12-match winning streak, including titles in Montpellier and Rotterdam this month.

No. 2-seeded Tsitsipas beat Daniel Evans of Britain 6-2, 6-3 without offering a break chance in their first meeting.

“I just played a quality of tennis which I enjoyed,” Tsitsipas said. “I am really impressed by the quality of my game, and I really hope to bring the same and possibly even better in the next round.”

He’s 2-2 against Djokovic.

“It’s anybody’s game really,” Djokovic said.

He will play for his fifth Dubai title, trying to add to 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2013.

Tsitsipas, who lost in the Dubai final a year ago to Roger Federer, will play for his sixth career title. He won the Marseille final last weekend.

At French Open, Francisco Cerundolo is mad at chair umpire over Holger Rune’s double-bounce

Associated PressJun 5, 2023, 8:49 PM EDT

Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

PARIS – Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina was devastated about losing his French Open fourth-round match to Holger Rune of Denmark in a fifth-set tiebreaker Monday. He also was mad at chair umpire Kader Nouni for missing a double-bounce of the ball on a point that was awarded to Rune early in his 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) victory.

They were tied at a set apiece and on serve at 2-1 for the No. 6-seeded Rune early in the third at Court Suzanne Lenglen when the point of contention happened. Cerundolo, who was serving at deuce, hit a forehand that skidded low at the baseline and quickly bounced a second time – which normally would have meant that the point was his.

But Rune went ahead and got his racket on the ball, sending it back over the net. At about the same time, No. 23 seed Cerundolo was saying “sorry” to apologize for the odd way his forehand made the ball skim across the clay. Nouni was not immediately aware of the double-bounce, thought the ball was still in play and called Cerundolo for hindrance for talking during a point. That meant Rune got the point, and when he won the next one, too, he had a service break.

“It was unbelievable, because it was a clear double-bounce. I was mad at the umpire because he has to see it,” Cerundolo said. “It’s his fault.”

In tennis, electronic line-calling is used at many tournaments to make line calls, but replays are not used to check things like double-bounces or whether a point should be lost because a player touches the net, which is not allowed.

And while Cerundolo put the onus on the official, he also thought Rune could have ceded the point because of the double-bounce.

“For sure, I wish he would have done that, because it was a big moment,” Cerundolo said.

Rune, who moved into a matchup against No. 4 Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals, said he saw a replay after the following point, and “saw it was a double bounce. But the point already happened, and he called the score. So I felt sorry.”

But, Rune added: “This is tennis. This is sports. Some umpires, they make mistakes. Some for me; some for him. That’s life.”

Gael Monfils withdraws from French Open with wrist injury

Associated PressJun 1, 2023, 11:34 AM EDT

Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

PARIS — A thrilling five-set victory took a toll on Gael Monfils, whose withdrawal from the French Open handed No. 6 Holger Rune a walkover to the third round.

The 36-year-old Frenchman said he has a strained left wrist and can’t continue.

He battled Sebastian Baez for nearly four hours on Court Philippe Chatrier before beating the Argentine 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 in a first-round match that ended at 12:18 a.m. local time.

The victory was Monfils’ first at tour level this year, as the veteran was coming back from heel surgery.

“Actually, physically, I’m quite fine. But I had the problem with my wrist that I cannot solve,” he said. “The doctor say was not good to play with that type of injury. Yesterday was actually very risky, and then today definitely say I should stop.”

Monfils reached the semifinals at the French Open in 2008 and made it to the quarterfinals on three other occasions.