ADELAIDE, Australia — Flamboyant
Frenchman
Gael Monfils claimed the 11th title of his career and his first in
almost two years when he beat Russia's
Karen Khachanov at the Adelaide
International on Sunday.
اضافة اعلان
Monfils broke Khachanov once in each set to take
the title 6-4, 6-4.
The 35-year-old Monfils has admitted he has
struggled for motivation during the pandemic because he does not enjoy playing
in empty stadiums.
As a result his ranking has dropped from
inside the top 10 to its current position of 21.
But playing in front of a large crowd who
had poured in to see local favorite
Ashleigh Barty win the women's title,
Monfils lifted and had the edge on his Russian opponent.
Both men had no trouble holding serve
throughout the match.
But at 4-5 in both sets, Khachanov seemed to
let his nerves get the better of him and he dropped serve each time to hand the
match to Monfils.
The two men will remain in Adelaide for next
week's second
ATP tournament, where Monfils is top seed once again.
World number 29 Khachanov will be third
seed, with the pair, who have been practicing together this week, drawn to meet
in the semi-finals.
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