Monfils comes from two quarters down to beat Kokkinakis at UTS London
The Frenchman saved two match points in sudden death to pinch victory
Gael Monfils, UTS London 2024
Frenchman Gael ‘Le Monf’ Monfils came from two quarters down to beat Thanasi ‘Kokki’ Kokkinakis 3-2 for his second win in as many matches at UTS London by Builder.ai on Saturday.
Kokki wins the first two quarters
In the first quarter, it was La Monf who built a 9-4 lead but Kokkinakis fought his back to cut the deficit to 11-10. At this point, Monfils decided to use his Bonus Card but the Aussie made it 11-11 as the clock hit eight minutes. In the deciding point, Monfils hit a double fault to give the first quarter to Kokkinakis.
Kokkinakis started the second quarter with a 2-0 lead. This time, it was Monfils who then won eight of the next nine points to lead 8-3 after a scorching forehand winner. The Aussie used his bonus Card successfully and then fought back to cut the decifit to 11-10. Monfils had another quarter point but it was saved by Kokkinakis, who once again won the deciding point on a return error from his opponent to take the second quarter 12-11.
Monfils saves two matchpoints in Sudden Death
Both players remained neck-and-neck in the third quarter before Monfils took a 9-7 lead. However, Kokkinakis won the next four points to move ahead 11-9 and then 12-11. At that point, the Frenchman used his Bonus Card to take a 14-12 lead and then win the quarter 15-12.
The fourth quarter was also a close one until Monfils used his Bonus Card at 9-8 to build a 12-8 lead. The Frenchman held on to win the quarter 13-8 to send the match into a Sudden Death fifth quarter.
La Monf saved two match points in the Sudden Death before coming through to win 3-2 for his second win but his semi-final berth is still yet to be guaranteed. For Kokki, this was the second loss in as many matches in London but he remains with a slim mathematical chance of making it to the Final Four.
