La Monf edges Tsitsipas to make first-ever UTS final in New York

Gael “La Monf” Monfils defeated Stefanos “El Greco” Tsitsipas (4) in the semi-finals of UTS New York on Friday, edging the fourth seed in a dramatic sudden death encounter, 17-12, 15-18, 16-14, 15-18, 2-1 at Forrest Hills Stadium in New York.

The victory sees La Monf through to the UTS New York final, where he will play the winner of Alexander “The Bublik Enemy” and top seed Alex “The Demon” de Minaur.

This is Monfils’ first UTS final in five attempts, and also makes it 20 straight years that the Frenchman has made a final on either the ATP or UTS Tours.

“I’m moving extremely well since yesterday,” Monfils declared, with the 37-year-old nailing numerous incredible passing shots from the back of the court against Tsitsipas. “I’m trying.”

La Monf outlasts El Greco in physical match

It was a ferociously physical encounter between Monfils and Tsitsipas under the hot New York sun, with both players battling to keep up with the faster pace of the UTS format.

“We’re running a marathon, we’re not playing tennis,” gasped El Greco between quarters.

“Look, I can barely talk right now. This is all physical.”

The difference between the two players was their use of the UTS cards. On one occasion, Tsitsipas was convinced that he had played his, only for the umpire to declare that it had not been correctly signalled. 

This sparked the Greek to a run of four points in the third quarter, before he fell at the last hurdle, smashing his racquet with frustration.

Tsitsipas came back and won the fourth quarter, however, meaning that seven of his 13 UTS matches have gone to sudden death.

However, UTS’s one serve rule was the downfall of El Greco in the sudden death period. He immediately sent a serve into the net, handing match point to La Monf.

The Frenchman pounced, battling his way through a tentative rally before ripping a backhand pass up the line as Tsitsipas approached the net.

Earlier in the tournament, La Monf had raced past two-time defending champion Andrey “Rublo” Rublev in straight quarters.

Tsitsipas lost to The Bublik Enemy, but was handed a spot in the semi-finals after Nick “King” Kyrgios withdrew.

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