Monfils, new racquet and new equipment supplier, will face Russian Karen Khachanov (29th) for the title on Sunday.
The French player, 21st in the world and seeded N.1, continued his good week of comeback at the expense of the Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis (171st), beaten 7-5, 6-0 in the semifinals.
In previous rounds, he got rid of Argentinian Juan Manuel Cerundolo (90th) 6-2, 6-1 in 55 minutes, then American Tommy Paul (43rd) 6-4, 6-1 in 69 minutes .
Monfils needed a set to find the necessary relaxation.
Kokkinakis did not register any more play afterwards.
At the start of the match, "It wasn't really me, he says. I was very tense, I made a lot of unforced errors, I forced my shots. I saved a few break points on daring shots and lucky to be honest. And as the game progressed, I felt better, I found my rhythm. "
The French Gaël Monfils, during his semi-final of the ATP 250 tournament in Adelaide, against the Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis, January 8, 2022 Michael Errey AFP
In the other semi-final, Khachanov dismissed the Croatian Marin Cilic, ex-world No. 3 today 30th, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3.
From the first exchanges in 2022, Monfils is thus guaranteed to play at least one final for the 18th consecutive season (since 2005).
This will be his first on Australian soil, his 33rd overall.
In 2021, the 35-year-old Frenchman ended his season with a forfeit during the Masters 1000 in Paris in early November, before his expected round of 16 against world No.1 Novak Djokovic.
Victim of a muscle injury to the adductors, he said he was both "frustrated" and happy to end with a "horrible year", and had displayed his desire "to reach the top in 2022 with big input results ".
"Before the pandemic, I was ninth or something like that. I want to come back to the highest level, he confirms. I want to play as many matches as possible, to reach the finals, to win them. The objective obviously remains. to shine in big tournaments, to try to pull off a big shot. I still believe I can. I work hard for that. "
© 2022 AFP