Gael Monfils was inches to finally beat Novak Djokovic in Dubai. The Frenchman was coming from a 0-16 win-loss record against Novak (1-16 considering futures tournaments) and he was in firm command of his match against the Serbian in the Emirates. However, at first, Gael couldn’t hold to a good 1-set and 1-break-up lead. Then he had 3 consecutive match points when leading 6-3 in the second set tiebreak, but he wasn’t able to convert any of them before succumbing in the following 3rd set.
Monfils was coming from a great run in February after winning 2 consecutive tournaments in Montpellier and Rotterdam. After losing to Djokovic, Gael posted the following message:
“I can t beat u my friend @djokernole ,but always a big pleasure to play against you.You are a big champion in many ways and u showed it again tonight🙌🏾.
I would like to thank everybody for the support in this past 4weeks. Those weeks been very good, let’s keep it up that way.”
Next tournament for him: Indian Wells.
Gael Monfils’s ranking and performance in 2020
Currently the world no.9, the French Player played his last match on the 28th of February when he surrendered to Novak Djokovic 2-6 7-68 6-1 in the semifinal in Dubai.
Currently, this season Gael has a 16-3 win-loss record. Monfils conquered 2 titles in 2020 in Montpellier and in Rotterdam.
Djokovic in Dubai, ranking, and results in 2020
Now the world no.1, Novak has a 17-0 win-loss record in 2020. Novak is now competing in Dubai where he defeated Malek Jaziri 6-1 6-2, Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3 6-1, Karen Khachanov 6-2 6-2 and Gael Monfils 2-6 7-68 6-1.
Novak Djokovic will take on Tsitsipas in the final. The head to head is 2-2.
Novak has won 2 titles in 2020 in ATP Cup and at the Australian Open.
Djokovic won 79 titles in his career: 46 on hard courts, 14 on clay courts, 13 on indoor courts and 6 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Gael Monfils and Novak Djokovic played each other 17 times. The head to head is 17-0 for Djokovic.
The last time that they competed against each other, Novak Djokovic won 2-6 7-68 6-1 in the semifinal in Dubai (Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships) on the 28th of February 2020.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
