Gael Monfils won the Stockholm Open years ago, and he's playing really well this week as well, booking a semi-final.
Monfils hasn't had much success in recent weeks but he hasn't played that much either. He was pretty okay during the North American US Open stretch playing some solid matches and winning a couple of good matches.
He took Toronto champion Jannik Sinner to three sets and that's quite a respectable result. This week in Stockholm has been amazing so far. He bested Marton Fucsovics in his first match, added a win over Filip Misolic and now bested longtime friend Adrian Mannarino as well.
The opening set was a very close one, as Mannarino broke first. He didn't hold the break long enough, allowing Monfils to battle back into the match, and eventually, Monfils outlasted his opponent to take the opening set 7-5. The second set started better for Monfils as he was fully in rhythm now.
He jumped out to a 4-1 lead but rushed a bit too much, allowing Mannarino to break back and make it 4-3. Monfils is playing far quicker in recent years as he's gotten older compared to the previous year, and it's been a positive change for the most part.
Still, mistakes happen and a few of them gave Mannarino some chances in the second set. He made it interesting by forcing a tiebreak in the final set, but it wasn't a very lucky one for Mannarino. He missed a few easy shots while Monfils hit some lines, and that proved enough for Monfils.
The final score was 7-5 7-6(3) for Monfils as he moves into his first semi-final in 21 months. He is going to face the winner of the Laslo Djere - Tomas Machac match that is coming up after this one. A rare chance for Monfils to book a final.
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