The World No. 1 trusted the same shot at 8/8 and moved to the net to earn his eighth set point, which was converted as Monfils committed his sixth double fault of the match.Djokovic charged to the finish line from that point as Monfils began to struggle with his movement. Category Analysis and opinion from the BBC's tennis correspondent.How to get into tennis - it's fun, will keep you fit and caters for all levels and abilities. ATP Premier Partner From that moment onwards I felt I was going through the ball better,” said Djokovic.“Obviously [in the] third set it's hard to measure it because obviously he was injured from the third game of the third set and it wasn't even close to what he played in the first two hours.”Monfils was aiming to extend his career-best 12-match winning streak. From 0-1 in the decider, Djokovic dropped just five points to claim six consecutive games and a place in the final. 1 trailed Monfils 3/6 in the second-set tie-break, but trusted his forehand under pressure before cruising to victory in the final set. "It truly was an escape," said Djokovic. Year This is it. "He was clearly the better player for two sets and I was fortunate to work my way back in the second set. Djokovic is through to his sixth Dubai final (4-1) after winning his 40th match in 46 encounters at the ATP 500 event.“It's like being on the edge of a cliff,” said Djokovic about facing match points. The Frenchman stepped in on his returns and overcame the World No. “He's won eight matches in a row now from last week in France winning [the Marseille] title, now playing more or less every single day, which is quite impressive. The four-time champion also improves to 17-0 this year, building on his title run at the inaugural Djokovic improves to 17-0 in his ATP Head2Head series against Monfils. "Gael is playing as well as he has ever.
I know I have a good defence but what he did today for two sets was unbelievable. "I just managed to stay solid throughout the whole match," said Tsitsipas, who was runner-up to Roger Federer in Dubai last year. ATP Platinum Partners No part of this site may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way or by any means (including photocopying, recording or storing it in any medium by electronic means), without the written permission of ATP Tour, Inc.. I accept the situation and try to make the most out of it.”Djokovic has now won 20 consecutive matches for the seventh time in his career. I am really impressed by the quality of my game today and I really hope to bring the same and possibly even better in the next round. The World No. There is no going back.
The World No. 9 served with confidence to convert his first set point with a powerful serve out wide.Monfils outmanoeuvred Djokovic at the net and capitalised on further errors from his opponent to claim a break in the third game of the second set. The Serb now aims to win a fifth Dubai title as Tsitsipas goes for his first. "I didn't have massive breakdowns and just played a quality of tennis which I enjoyed.
But that kind of turned around from 3/6 in the tie-break. Search The 32-year-old opened and closed the final game with forehand winners to complete the comeback.“I just wasn't taking my chances when I was having rallies on those [first five] set points. After earning a second service break, the World No. The Frenchman struck back-to-back winners from 4/3 to earn three consecutive match points. Monfils was unable to take his opportunity, striking two groundstroke errors as Djokovic’s forehand found its range. Gael Monfils, who has lost his first 16 matches against Novak Djokovic, speaks to the challenges of facing the World No. "Tsitsipas won 90% of the points on his first serve and did not face a break point in the match, while world number 37 Evans was broken twice in each set as his hopes of making a first final in an ATP 500 event were dashed. "Monfils, 34, was aiming for a first victory over Djokovic at his 17th attempt and started the match in blistering fashion, claiming two breaks of serve to win the opening set.The French world number nine broke again to go 2-1 up in the second set before Djokovic battled back to level at 3-3.The top seed wasted two set points at 5-4 but was then forced to save three match points in the tie break before finally levelling the match.He then eased past Monfils in the third with three breaks of serve.But he was never able to get a foothold in his first match against Tsitsipas, who won in 81 minutes. But Djokovic began to lower his error count, playing with greater consistency from the baseline to find his way back into the set.Djokovic earned five set points late in the second set, but Monfils played with bravery and commitment to erase each one and reach a tie-break.
Watch live tennis streams at http://www.tennistv.com. Hopefully I can get a title.”Monfils played with great variety and power to unsettle Djokovic from the baseline in the opening set. Find your nearest court and learn the basics with our guide.Get the latest tennis headlines sent straight to your phone, sign-up to our newsletter and learn where to find us on online.World number one Novak Djokovic survived a scare to beat France's Gael Monfils and set up a final against Dan Evans' conqueror Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Dubai Tennis Championships.Greek second seed Tsitsipas, 21, wasted little energy in beating the unseeded British number one 6-2 6-3.But Djokovic, 33, had to dig deep, coming from a set down and saving three match points to win 6-2 7-6 (10-8) 6-1.The Serb now aims to win a fifth Dubai title as Tsitsipas goes for his first. Okay, one point away, one shot away.