Djokovic, Monfils To Meet For Eastbourne Title

by Staff | June 30th, 2017, 6:06 pm
  • 24 Comments

Late wildcard entrants Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils will meet for the Eastbourne title Saturday.

Djokovic, who has never won a grass title outside of Wimbledon, cruised to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over the young Russian Daniil Medvevev.

“I am undoubtedly enjoying this week and the fact that I’m in the final obviously makes it even better. But I felt very welcomed from the first day by the people in Eastbourne,” said Djokovic. “I’m really glad that I’ll be able to fight for the trophy tomorrow. I haven’t had too many opportunities to fight for the trophy in the last 10 to 12 months. I’m hoping that I can continue on this path of raising my performance and the quality of tennis.”


Djokovic has just one title on the season coming in Doha. And in the final he’ll be heavily favored over Monfils who he leads 13-0, though they’ve never met on grass.

“Gael is such a dynamic player and unpredictable. He has the full package,” said Djokovic. “If things come together for him and he wants to perform well that day, he can be really tough. Especially with that serve, he can beat anyone.”

Monfils got through a tough test with countryman Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-7(7), 7-6(4). Monfils, though tweaked his knee during the win leading to specualation the Frenchman might be able to play tomorrow.

“It was a big battle mentally, so I’m happy to get through it,” said Monfils. “I really hope to be fine for the final tomorrow and to be at 100 per cent. I’ll need to be aggressive and play my best.”

The 16th-ranked Monfils will be the first player Djokovic has faced ranked inside the Top 45 this week.

In a over-baked Antayla event in Turkey, Yuichi Sugita will battle Adrian Mannarino for the title.


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24 Comments for Djokovic, Monfils To Meet For Eastbourne Title

Wog Boy Says:

Eastbourne looks like really nice town and little bit upmarket place? I love the sound of seagulls:)

It was nice match to watch, but Nole is nowhere near old Nole and his second serve that use to be his weapon is now his liability, big one.
Medvedev looked good to me, pick ups ball early, good serve, flat deep hitting from both wings, quick hands, good mover, he might do well with a good team.
One thing they both have in common, their OHs are the same, atrocious:)


skeezer Says:

“Djokovic, who has never won a grass title outside of Wimbledon, cruised to a 6-4, 6-4 victory”
Yep. Sure did.


Nitesh Says:

Djokovic has never won any grass court title outside Wimbledon, because he has hardly played any. This is the first time in 7 years that he has played a grass court tournament other than Wimbledon.


Wog Boy Says:

Mario Anicic will be with Agassi in Nole’s team in London.


J-Kath Says:

Showing my ignorance:

(1) Wogboy – Who is Mario Anicic (a clone of Cilic????)
(2) Nitesh @ 9.01pm: Nole on grass – GeWhiz – Didn’t know that. Very surprised.


Margot Says:

^ A very promising tennis player who, sadly, had to retire from pro tennis. He couldn’t shake off glandular fever, and also had injuries.
Used to like him a lot. An interesting addition, I’d say.


J-Kath Says:

Thanks Margot.

Trying to avoid comparisons with Andy.


Wog Boy Says:

JK,
He is nice young man and god friend of Nole from playing days, he was top10 player, watched him playing against Nole in Sydney in 2009, when he was trying to resurrect his career.
I just don’t know how is it going to work since he dedicated himself to studying after retiring, did masters degree in USA and work at Wall Street for some Swiss bank, had nothing to do with tennis since then.
I spelt his surname wrongly, it is Ancic.


Van Persie Says:

Thanks for the info, WB. Ancic can motivate Nole more than Marko and Pepe could. Let’s see the positive on this.
Just looking at Djoko playing. He looks more natural on grass than on clay. My pov. Hope he will play more on this surface from now on.


Van Persie Says:

The crowds at Eastbourne are very nice. First time I follow this tournament.


J-Kath Says:

VP:

They were thrilled to get Nole – so that’s a good start.
Thanks WB.


Van Persie Says:

JK,

This is the nice thing about small tournaments. Crowds are always respectfull, as they get not very often the chance to get the top 10 players.
And I think it was a success to have a Djoko- Monf final, 2 celebrities.


Van orten Says:

Good win for nole !!! Crisis over ?


Wog Boy Says:

VP,
We can only hope. Nice speach and nice words about Mario.
Lot of room for improvement, he is not out of the woods yet.


Truth Says:

Of course, Roddick and McEnroe went silent. I wonder why.
Once their daddy Fed loses, they’ll rant about how boring tennis is.

I’m not sure if Marko and Agassi worry if Djoker will win anything.
Both his losing & winning makes them look bad. Agassi is not a huge tennis enthusiast. He sometimes is away from his family and has no Djoker salary.
He!s a Fedal fan and hates when he looks useless next to the Serbian bulldozer of Fedal.
Agassi choked in Fed matches and hangs around with the enemy of U.S. tennis media. LOL!
Marko can’t play tennis so he’s bitterly jealous. Djoker could feel conflicted as he feels terrible for hurting anyone’s pride.


Van Persie Says:

Yep, was a good win, but let’s get serious. He’s on the right pat but still far from his best.
He needed this warm up.


Truth Says:

* losing make


Wog Boy Says:

I don’t know if Wimbledon has the same grass (courts) but this one didn’t look nowhere near as fast as AO this year nor the bounce was as low as AO and the grass was really well maintained.

Good to see you back VP, too late here, time for bed:)


Daniel Says:

Great win, starting second half of the season with the right foot. Hope he gets his act together and keeps improving.

At least he and Federer are the only ones entering Wimbledon on a high with tittles.


chrisford1 Says:

Eastbourne got a great deal! The #1 Wildcard and #2 Wildcard *Monfils) played w/o appearance fees, made the Final against one another..
Fans got two huge stars of the ATP. One a star for all the titles and all the finals. SFs, and QFs made. The other despite a lack of many titles, one of the biggest stars in the ATP for displays of art and feats no other player can do.


Margot Says:

Marko and Pepe weren’t there….just sayin’ ….;)
He looked good to me. Forehand was very strong. Moving very well.
WB: Commies saying Wimbledon not as fast as AO. Crazy days.


Van Persie Says:

Thanks WB, took a break until Wimbledon.

Margot,
Yes, Marko and Pepe were not there. I did not miss Pepe ;)
Forehand still not accurate, as it once was. My pov after the Medvedev match. Nole is inconsistent atm. He reminds me on his version from 2008-2010. Hope he proves me wrong at Wimbledon ;)


Truth Says:

Seems like Djoker needs a baby bottle to prevent him from going crazy on court. LMAO
Monfils said Djoker was sometimes lucky to win.

Weirdo sacrificed his job for Marko. I’ll take anything he can give on court, without the Peter Pan infantile behavior. Djoker’s scared of Marko because Boris had to calm Marko’s anger after Boris greeted Agassi in Djoker match.
He wasted 14000+ ranking points, and was without talent then he suddenly won a title. Bizarre.


Mridul Says:

Infact, the courts at Eastbourne are a little fast than those at Wimbledon.

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