Fifth-time lucky for La Monf as veterans dominate UTS New York
Monfils gains automatic qualification to the UTS Grand Final in London this December
Gael Monfils (c) UTS
Experience reigned supreme at UTS New York this week, as Alexander “The Bublik Enemy” Bublik and Gael “La Monf” Monfils clashed in the final at Forrest Hills Stadium on Friday evening, with La Monf prevailing 3-1.
The two UTS veterans were both playing in their first final from five attempts, with Monfils coming from behind 10-20, 17-13, 17-14, 15-14 to win his maiden UTS title. The win means he will automatically qualify for the UTS Grand Final in London this December.
Bublik also qualifies for the Grand Final with the points he gained from making the UTS New York final. The pair will join Andrey “Rublo” Rublev (UTS Oslo winner) and Alex “The Demon” de Minaur who have also qualified for the London final.
“I’m really happy, especially to win here in New York,” said Monfils after winning his first UTS title.
“I’m in good form, I show great tennis these two days, I feel ready for New York next week.”
UTS gods see Bublik through, La Monf rides his own luck
Earlier in the day, The Bublik Enemy had produced some of his best tennis to race past top seed The Demon, 3-1.
The Kazakh served brilliantly and made excellent balls from the back of the court, but it was the favour of the UTS gods that he believes got him through his match.
“If there is a certain UTS god, then he really wanted me to win today,” said Bublik after his semi-final win over The Demon. “It was pure luck. If there is a UTS god, thank you!
“I had everything today, all the lines, all the shots… This crazy VAR.”
Bublik had a particular patch of luck when a shot of his struck the net cord, then bounced on the net post, then the base of the net post, before dropping into De Minaur’s side of the court.
The VAR ruled it was a legal shot, handing Bublik a healthy lead in the quarter.
La Monf, however, was made to create his own luck against fourth seed Stefanos “El Greco” Tsitsipas.
The Greek was playing in his 13th UTS match, and after losing the first quarter, managed to claw his way back against an in-form Monfils to force sudden death.
“Oh my god, I’m so dramatic!” declared Tsitsipas when he realised this was to be his seventh sudden death in 13 matches. Experience didn’t help this time though, as La Monf won 2-1 to make a final for the 20th consecutive year.
The Commander makes impressive UTS debut
Day two of UTS New York had begun with a setback for fans, as Nick Kyrgios shared that he had woken up with a stiff wrist. His physio advised that as he is in the late stages of his rehab, he should take it slow in order to avoid a setback.
As a result, Kyrgios withdrew from his semi-final on Friday. The Aussie had made a brilliant return to competition on Thursday, beating Casper Ruud 3-0 to make the semi-finals.
However, a quick reshuffle saw Ugo “The Commander” called up to make his UTS debut.
The Frenchman played brilliantly in the second match of the day, taking to court in a classification match after Ruud saw off Denis “Shapo” Shapovalov 3-1 to open the day’s action in New York.
Humbert squared off against top seed Andrey “Rublo” Rublev, handing the Russian his second consecutive loss for the first time in his UTS career.
UTS New York – results summary
Here’s how all of Friday’s action unfolded in New York:
- Classification – Casper “The Ice Man” Ruud (2) beat Denis “Shapo” Shapovalov 3-1 (16-9, 13-15, 14-12, 16-11)
- Classification – Ugo “The Commander” Humbert beat Andrey “Rublo” Rublev (3) 3-1 (17-16, 17-13, 13-18, 16-13)
- Semi-final – Gael “La Monf” Monfils beat Stefanos “El Greco” Tsitsipas (4) 3-2 (17-12, 15-18, 16-14, 15-18, 2-1)
- Semi-final – Alexander “The Bublik Enemy” Bublik beat Alex “The Demon” de Minaur (1) 3-1 (19-12, 13-16, 16-14, 18-11)
- Final – La Monf beat Bublik 3-1 (10-20, 17-13, 17-14, 15-14)
The next UTS event will be held in Frankfurt in less than two months’ time, with the final event of the UTS regular season taking place from October 18th to 20th at the Süwag Energie Arena.
