Sunday October 22, the Russian Pavel Kotov, 24, played the first final of his career at the ATP 250 tournament in Stockholm, facing Gaël Monfils, 37, who was playing his 32nd match for a title. And despite his advantage in terms of experience, the Frenchman struggled to win the 12th title of his career against the 109th player in the world, from qualifying for the Swedish tournament.
Since her last final, at the beginning of January 2022 in Adelaide (Australia), “la Monf” has experienced ups, downs, injuries and tears of joy at Roland-Garros, after a marathon victory in the first round. This up-and-down period may have made Monfils forget the scent of the biggest meetings, when each match becomes a fight. But the Frenchman has not lost his sense of winning and fighting. At the end of the effort, he went for victory in three sets (4-6, 7-6, 6-3) against the Russian.
At the start of the match, Gaël Monfils quickly showed himself to be a little step below his opponent. He first lost his service game with a double fault (3-1), against a boy with a very solid take-off. Before this final, the Russian had only been broken twice since the start of the tournament. Well launched, Kotov quickly led 5-1, before tensing up a little to conclude the set. But, one late round later, the first act was completed (6-4).
A match that was played physically
Athletically too, the Frenchman initially seemed less aggressive than his opponent. Initially, the long rallies were often won by the latter, who played for a long time on his main asset: his power. A sometimes blatant physical deficit. In a strong position at 15-30 on his rival’s serve, the former French number 1, out of breath, took long seconds of respite.
Immediate result: game lost. Then Monfils headed towards the steps of the court, between two stands, to sit down for a few seconds before serving again. Gritting his teeth, the Frenchman went for a tie-break with the strength of his arms (a little) and his mind (a lot). Victorious (8-6) in an exercise where we imagined him too tired to win, the Parisian rediscovered a little of his youth.
“I’m here to have fun,” Gaël Monfils retorted to Félix Auger-Aliassime in September, during the Laver Cup, when the Canadian criticized him for not taking their match seriously. We can bet that he did not neglect this opposition on northern soil, perhaps being surprised himself by his ability to hold out.
Because in the end, it was Kotov who ended up breaking down. Not displaying the sharpest form on the circuit, the Russian regressed slightly in terms of physical intensity and concentration. Unforced errors and a double fault cost him an entry break in the last set. A little negativity, annoyance and a lot of fatigue cost him a second (5-2). Monfils missed a chance on his serve, but ultimately did not tremble to win. With this success, he will return to the top 100 of the world rankings and also becomes the oldest winner of the Stockholm tournament.
“Pavel pushed me to my limits until the end, I ran so hard,” whispered the Frenchman, all smiles on the court, after going to kiss his wife, the Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina, and his mother.
Arthur Fils was unable to worry Alexander Bublik
A second Frenchman, in a second final, with an almost similar last name… The points in common ended there between Gaël Monfils and the young French tennis hopeful Arthur Fils (38th in the world ranking). The latter was unable to worry Alexander Bublik (36th) in the ATP final in Antwerp (Belgium). He lost 6-4, 6-4, in just one hour and sixteen minutes of play.
Presented as a great talent in French tennis, Fils would probably have liked to show more things in this match. Much of the first set came down to a question: who will have the biggest serve? In this little game, it was the Kazakhstani who was the best.
It’s not a fault for the 19-year-old Habs to have tried his luck, with two aces, a shutout won at 4-5. But a gap in the middle of the set allowed Bublik to take control. All with a very solid, sometimes fanciful, play. The 36th in the world notably offered himself an ace on his second serve, in a game where he had already saved a break point. He – obviously – concluded the first round with an ace, already his seventh at this point in the match.
It was at the start of the second round that Arthur Fils’ nervousness got to him. The points then rolled in, and it was no longer just because of Bublik’s excellent service. It was necessary to add the excitement of the Frenchman from the baseline. Like a gross foul on the backhand, in the first game of the second set, which cost him an entry break.
As a demonstration, Bublik went, without difficulty, to seek the third title of his career. In a style, without effusion of joy, which contrasted with the smiling face of the young Frenchman, aware of having come across something stronger. Probably also aware that at 19, he still has time to reach the level required to soon establish himself in his turn.
