Novak Djokovic vs Gael Monfils - Paris BNP Paribas Masters Final

Novak Djokovic vs Gael Monfils - Paris BNP Paribas Masters Final

GAME, SET AND MATCH DJOKOVIC!
7-3 Djokovic: Double fault!
6-3 Djokovic: LaMonf tries a drop, Nole comes in then smashes. Three championship points.
5-3 Djokovic: Enormous and incredibly cagey rally which a Monfils error brings to an end.
4-3 Djokovic: Big serve, Djoker looongs. He's still a break up.
4-2 Djokovic: LaMonf longs one and is a mini-break behind at the change-over. If ever he needed the crowd behind him it's now.
3-2 Djokovic: big service, Djoker drops, guards the net, Gaël slides but can't get the last one back.
2-2: Djoker paints the line with a gutsy-most forehand.
1-1: Ace. 2-1 Monfils: big service, Nole nets.
1-0 Djokovic: LaMonf stretches and misses, tumbling over.

5.51: 6-6. LaMonf holds to love. TO LOVE! Tie-break! Lawks a-lummee...

5.47: 6-5 Djokovic. Nole holds to 15, Gaël was a step behind every ball there. Four points for Nole, 11 for LaMonf. Come on, let’s have a tie-break, who cares who wins it.

5.44: 5-5. All the ajde-ing in the world can’t help Nole as Gaël serves to stay in the match and holds to 15. Will we have the final decided by a tie-break? How totally epic would that be? Answer: so like, I mean, totally epic, yah?

5.42: Jelena Ristic is on her feet as Nole goes back to the baseline, clapping her hands and ajde-ing her boyfriend on.

5.39: 5-4 Djokovic. The Serb steps up to the plate when push comes to shove with Roddickesque serves and Gonzalesque forehands. Whoosh. Nole is four points away, Gaël 12...

5.35: 4-4. LaMonf serves big, bold and beautiful as streaks to 40-0 then small, timid and ugly as Nole drags him back to 40-30, but a big ‘un then a smash levels matters. Eight points, either for Gaël or Nole. Eight points.

5.32: 4-3 Djokovic, Monfils breaks back! Djoker double-faults. Me oh my. Both players are 12 points from glory and LaMonf is the one with the wind in his sails.

5.28: 0-30 on the Djoker service. The crowd are on the edges of their seats, every single one of them (except the habitually impassive Roger Rasheed). Let. Let again. Second service... rally ensues, Gaël loongs one. 15-30. Ace: 30-all. MLaMonf is still only two points from breaking back... Make that one point as the Djoker then looongs one (looonger than Gaël did so it deserved more ooooo). Let (again)...

5.32: 4-3 Djokovic, Monfils breaks back! Djoker double-faults. Me oh my. Both players are 12 points from glory and LaMonf is the one with the wind in his sails.

5.28: 0-30 on the Djoker service. The crowd are on the edges of their seats, every single one of them (except the habitually impassive Roger Rasheed). Let. Let again. Second service... rally ensues, Gaël loongs one. 15-30. Ace: 30-all. MLaMonf is still only two points from breaking back... Make that one point as the Djoker then looongs one (looonger than Gaël did so it deserved more ooooo). Let (again)...

5.23: 30-0 Monfils, two DFs make it 30-all, an ace takes him to 40-30 but he seems to have problems with his arm – he’s shaking it between services as if to loosen it up. Another service winner makes it 4-2 Djokovic.

5.21: 4-1 Djokovic, the Djoker steps up to the plate when it matters and serves out to love. He’s eight points from his second title in seven days and his first Masters 1000 of the year.

5.17: 15-40, LaMonf’s turn to DF. Aïe aïe aïe, as my daughter likes to say. And then comes another double fault – two in a row – and the bubble has burst. 3-1 Djokovic, break. The crowd are suddenly deflated.

5.13: 30-40 on the Djoker serve and the Serb has a 1,000-yared stare out there. LaMonf on the other hand is all starey-eyed determination. Long rally and Djoker wiiiiides one. 2-1 Djokovic, break Monfils. Breakback Montparnasse (Mount Parnassus is the name of Paris’ main railway station). Double-fault number three from Nole didn’t help matters for the No3 seed there. Game back on, good and proper.

5.06: 0-40, three breaks points for the Djoker. LaMonf looks like someone has let all the air out of his tyres. He saves the first, on the second his drop is too deep but Djoker nets the follow-up – he’s been poor at the net today. 30-40... A rally of a least 40 shots, Djoker drops, Gaël comes in, Djoker lobs, Gaël backhand volley returns, Djoker passes, Gaël digs one out but it’s long. 2-0 Djokovic, break. The crowd is still with LaMonf though, more than ever in fact.

5.00: 1-0 Djokovic. Again the Djoker moves LaMonf from side to side like a rook on a chess board and holds to 15. How will LaMonf respond?

4.52: 7-5 Monfils, one set all! A fifth ace sets up two set points and when he takes it to serve out to 15, the crowd is like Etna and Mount St Helens all rolled into one. The Djoker needs to get a grip, shake off his sloth and drag himself back into the match because LaMonf is on a roll and a half here.

4.50: 6-5 Monfils, break! Second service, enormous return and the Djoker can only net. The crowd go wild (except LaMonf’s coach Roger Rasheed who remains as impassive as ever) as Gaël pumps his chest. Four points away from a decider!

4.46: More deuce and another break point saved with some big forehands. Djoker is really having to battle out there and is looking mentally far less sharp than yesterday. Ooh, here comes another break point – is the third one the charm? LaMonf waves his arms and the crowd respond...

4.42: 5-5. LaMonf holds to 15 with some big serving. Believe.

4.36: Deuce. Djoker DFs at 30-all to give Monfils a break point but then sends him left and right, like a sadistic Gepetto pulling Pinocchio’s strings, to deuce it back up. Both players are sweating buckets out there. The ball-kids are more towel-kids than anything else today.

5-4, Djoker holds. Gaël to serve to stay in the set / match / tournament / season...

4.30: 4-4. LaMonf holds via deuce. Djoker berates himself over every fluffed shot (not that there are many) – he knows he’s in a battle here. He’s getting a bit flappy at the net, and the crowd are happy enough to point it out to him whenever they can.

4.26: 4-3 Djokovic. The Djoker battles and holds service in the psychologically crucial seventh game of the set. Hopefully, for the crowd’s sake, LaMonf can take it to a tie-break, and he’s shown over the past few games that anything could happen in a best of 13-pointer.

4.22: Deuce on the Djoker serve. It’s no longer one-way traffic all of a sudden, mainly due to the fact that Djoker’s level has dropped a tad. He then carves out an Ad and dominates, but the net cord is patriotically French and deuces it back up. Ooh, advantage LaMonf...!

4.15: 3-3. LaMonf holds to love – no aces but the services were big enough. Believe! The crowd certainly does as Gaël says no thanks to the semi-bagel and serves it right back.

4.13: 3-2 Djokovic, break Monfils! Long rally, Djoker comes to the net but LaMonf’s backhand was low and whippy and again the Djoker fails to deal with it – that’s been the only fault in his game today. The crowd go wild, Monfils bounces around like a sugared-up toddler on a pogo stick and it’s game well and truly on! Ha, watch Djoker break to 15 here...

4.12: Break point Monf! The crowd are on their feet...

4.06: Deuce. OK, just a hold will do. Djoker lobs to perfection – Gaël is coming to the net to try to keep the points short but the Djoker managed to hoist one up over him, even though the 6’3”-er leapt at full stretch, which lands on the baseline.

Ooh, 3-1 Djokovic. LaMonf grits his teeth and holds.

4.01: 3-0 Djokovic. The Djoker serves Gaël up a demi-pain, as they call semi-bagels over here. There are still plenty of Tricolores being waved in the crowd and a guy banging a drum, and they’re still right behind LaMonf. A break, just one break – let’s give them something to shout about.

3.58: 2-0 Djokovic, break. Deuce, Nov-Ad, Monf dominates the net but Djoker fires one back over that is low, flat and topspinny and Gaël can only send it way long. Djoketty broke, broketty Djoke. The carrots are cooked, as they say over here in la belle France. And LaMonf is cooked as well.

3.54: 1-0 Djokovic. To love. Second in a row. Inexorable.

3.50: 6-2, first set Djokovic. Djoker has half the title. 82% of first serve points, 88% of second serve points for the Djoker. Three break points, two taken. Incredibly efficient stuff from the Djoker.

3.48: There are no easy points for Gaël and he’s been taken to three deuces already. Djoker has his second set point...

3.42: 5-2 Djokovic. A Hawkeye followed by a scrambled lob and good follow-up give Gaël two points on the Djoker serve, which Nadal would have given his right arm for yesterday, but a punchy Djoker forehand after a second serve snuffs out any threat. New balls.

Nadal incidentally has apparently lost 7kg of muscle, mainly in his thighs, in an attempt to take the strain off his achey breaky knee tendons. No wonder he struggled at times in this tournament...

3.35: 4-2 Djokovic. LaMonf serves big to hold to 15, but he’s got to pull something out of the bag pretty soon otherwise his defeat will be half-sealed already. The way the Serb is playing at the moment, you need to take any glimmer of a chance that comes your way.

3.33: 4-1 Djokovic. The Djoker has lost the grand total of one point on service thus far. Yeesh.

3.30: 3-1 Djokovic, break. The Djoker keeps the points long and Gaël ends up erring unforcedly – well that’s what the stats will say but you can hardly call it unforced. The break is broke. Djoke broke. The uphill battle begins for the local boy.

3.23: 1-1. LaMonf holds to 30 but it’s a bit more laborious...

3.19: 1-0 Djokovic. Two firsts, two seconds, four points. A game to love. Whoever said the Djoker is a slow starter knows nothing about tennis...

3.17: Carlos Bernardes in the chair announces that LaMonf won the toss and will receive. Why not – Djoker can be a slow starter. Plenty of French Tricolores in the crowd. Come on guys, let’s have a classic! Long first point and Nole wrong-foots Gaël to win it. 15-0.

3.10: Out come Djokovic and Monfils. I don’t know about the players, but I almost had tears in my eyes when they emerged – I know, I know, it’s been a long week with lots of late nights, but I tend to tear up before the final of a big sporting event begins as opposed to at the end. It’s as if I’m overcome with emotion at having got this far...

3.02: Fred Viktor gets the crowd in the mood with a pumping remix of Thriller as the players get ready to walk out – total blackout in the stadium, lights flashing around the court, music at full volume. Any minute now the Djoker and LaMonf will be take centre stage...

2.55: They've just shown today's video on the big screens on Centre Court - more excellent work from Eli, Benji and Eric.

2.47: Wonderful spectacle at the moment on Centre Court - we have four opera singers, a chorus of 24 who dance as well as sing, a pianist in the press seats, the conductor in the umpire's chair and we are being regaled with the Magic Flute, Carmen, La Traviata and Aida and more. The "Open Air Opera" Company certainly now how to delight a crowd, and Bercy nows how to put on a show.

1.27: Nestor and Zimonjic win the doubles, 6-3 6-4 - their ninth title of the season! No wonder they were No1 seeds!

12.58: 6-3, Nenad and Daniel bag the opener.

12.50: 4-2, break back up!

12.45: Ooh, breakback Pyrenean mountain! 30-40, the Belgrade boys battle to deuce. No Ad, the Spaniards choose to receive from the Ad court and a Granollers smash gets it back to 3-2.

12.43: Hold, break, hold and it's a Belgrade bagel that the Spaniards are being forced to eat. 3-0 to Daniel and Nenad already. Ah, make that 3-1, Marcel's just held.

12.29: The doubles protagonists are out on court - the top seeds from Belgrade versus the unseeded Spaniards.

11.50: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the show! The Djoker versus LaMonf for a place in the history books. Head says Djokovic in two in about an hour - he was awesome yesterday and Monfils looks exhausted. Heart says the crowd might just carry Gaël over the line in three epic sets. What say you? I also reckon Robredo and Granollers will surprise Nestor and Ziki in the doubles and be immediately penned in for the Davis Cup final rubber. Your thoughts? Write in and let me know...



Article from Paris