Metz (AFP)
For his entry into the second round of the Metz tournament, the French Gaël Monfils (20th in the ATP ranking) clearly beat the German Philipp Kohlschreiber (107th) 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 in 1 hour on Thursday. 32 minutes.
The first set was stuck but the French, relying on his service, flew over the decisive game (7/2).
Le Manceau then continued its momentum.
He pocketed the German faceoff at his first break point to lead 1-0 in the second set.
But the 20th player in the world was losing focus and Kohlschreiber took the opportunity to pick up again thanks in particular to some subtle cushioning.
The sequel was a succession of lost serves until 5-4.
Monfils then raised the tone: two aces (out of a total of eight) then two winning serves later, the Frenchman concluded his entry into the tournament in a fine way, which he won in 2009.
"I felt good but when you start a tournament, you always need a time to adapt," noted Gaël Monfils, who is the last French survivor of the competition.
"I saw good things and I'm happy, there are more good than bad. There are some that I immediately want to erase for the next match, hoping to gain momentum."
In the quarter-finals on Friday, he will face the winner of the match between Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili (36th) and Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (45th), which concluded the day on Thursday.
© 2021 AFP