Monfils off to a flyer at UTS London with win over Rublev

La Monf was in brilliant form as he matched his win over Rublev from New York earlier this year

December 6, 2024

Gael Monfils extended his dominance over Andrey Rublev as he clinched a 3-0 victory over the Russian in his opening Group A match at UTS London by Builder.ai.

La Monf was in scintillating form, winning19-15, 13-9, 17-9, a repeat of his win over Rublo in New York in August, when he went on to win the title. It is just his second win in 11 UTS matches.

“I came here, I was locked in, wanted to enjoy myself but I’m in the middle of pre-season, I’ve put a lot of work in to be at a decent level next year,” Monfils said. “Yes, I wanted to put on a show but be tough and I think I was tough today.”

“I felt good on the court. I was moving well, felt good the ball. There’s always period when your body lets you do what it wants, that’s a bit easier. I felt like today was that day, I could run a bit better.”

Monfils streaks ahead in style

Rublev began well, leading 4-2 but then lost eight straight points as Monfils led 10-4 with just under four minutes to go. The 38-year-old looked sharp as he maintained the lead throughout to take the advantage, mixing power with nice touch at the net.

Rublev did thunder one glorious return for a winner but it was too little too late as Monfils won his bonus card with one second to go and then, despite four points in a row for the Russian, he held on to win it 19-15.

Rublev starts to lengthen rallies

The first point of the second quarter was an indication of what might be to come as he ran Monfils side to side, looking to extend the rallies and make it an even bigger physical battle.

It looked to be working as he forged a 6-4 lead but Monfils turned it around again, jumping all over the net and winning a brilliant exchange. Rublev had a chance to level at 10-10 but couldn’t win his bonus card and Monfils pulled away to double his lead, finishing off the quarter 13-9 with a forehand pass down the line.

Monfils maintains his edge

Rublev again tried to take the attack to Monfils but the Frenchman was equal to everything he could throw at him. From 8-8, he pulled away again, winning a 21-shot rally and then five of the next six points before also winning on his bonus card to put the score too far beyond Rublev.

The Russian admitted he had not been able to match Monfils’ physicality.

“Gael played really well. It’s not easy to play against him. You have to be fresh. I am in pre-season, training and doing gym, so physically, I was not ready to run for every point, to keep fighting,” he said. “I was destroyed and on top of that, he played a high level, it was not easy.