Monfils Sets Up All-French Quarterfinal Clash In Stockholm Against Mannarino
ATP
Gael Monfils is finding form at the 2023 Stockholm Open with a second consecutive win at the ATP 250 event, booking the quarter-final.
Monfils has had a somewhat shaky year, as it took him a really long time to find any kind of form after previously battling an injury. His body failing him a few times certainly didn't help him, but that's nothing new as the Frenchman struggled with injuries in his career.
He found some good tennis during the US Open stretch, which has generally been a good part of the tennis calendar for him. Since then, he only played at the Laver Cup since the US Open but failed to score a win at the event.
His first win after the US Open came here in Stockholm as he downed Marton Fucsovics after a three-set battle in the first round. Today's match was against up-and-coming player Filip Misolic, who bested Dan Evans in the previous round.
It wasn't a complicated match for Monfils at all, as he used his tremendous experience to navigate this match well. Misolic never played against Monfils and it showed in this match and he frequently ran out of ideas in rallies.
He's not the most aggressive tennis player but certainly capable of being dangerous indoors. Monfils is still quite speedy even at this age, and it gave the Austrian some problems.
He didn't really serve all too well either, which didn't help. Monfils absorbed Misolic's power really well, which resulted in one break a piece in each of the sets.
He served really well, totalling 11 aces, which made the matchup quite a bit simpler. He lost only 3 points behind his first serve totalling 15 winners and only 5 unforced errors as well.
The final score was 6-4 6-3 as he moves into his only second quarter-final this year after the Canadian Open earlier this year.
