Novak Djokovic continued his perfect record against Gael Monfils with a straight sets win over the Frenchman in their latest meeting at the Brisbane International.
The top seed eased his way to a 6-3, 6-3, triumph against the 38-year-old who he first played against on the Tour in 2005. Djokovic was able to take control of proceedings with the help of 10 winners and won 76% of his first service points. He has won 29 out of his last 30 matches against played ranked outside the top 50 with his only loss being to Luca Nardi in Indian Wells.
Djokovic’s triumph extends his winning head-to-head record against Monfils to 20-0 which is one of the most one-sided rivalries in the sports history. Furthermore, he is on a 26-match winning streak against French players.
“I’ve known Gael since I was 15. We played quite a few matches in junior level and tier one. Professional circuit,” said Djokovic.
“I’ve had a good score against him over the years but we’ve had some incredible battles on different surfaces.
“He’s one of the best, if not the best, athletes in our sport that I have seen over the years. Incredible agility, flexibility and speed. Such a great player to watch. So exciting with a great character, great charisma and attracts many fans around the world to the tennis stadium.
“So tons of respect for him. Hopefully we can play some more before we both retire.”
In the quarter-finals, Djokovic will next take on the big-serving Reilly Opelka who entered the draw with the use of his protected ranking. Opelka, who has been ranked as high as 17th in the world, defeated Matteo Arnaldi 7-6(9), 7-6(4). It will be their first meeting on the Tour.
“We have some big servers in the in the tournament,” Djokovic commented.
“Opelka has been injured for a couple of years. He’s a great guy off the court. We get along very well. I don’t think we’ve ever faced each other. I’m gonna have to probably step back a few steps for that first serve.
“It’s a completely different matchup than the one that I had (against Monfils) and we’re going to do my best to get ready and hopefully get a win.”
Djokovic is seeking his first title in Brisbane and his 100th overall on the ATP Tour.
In other matches, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who has already produced 56 aces in the tournament, continued his solid start to the new year with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) win over American fourth seed Frances Tiafoe. Earlier this week, Mpetshi Perricard also beat Nick Kyrgios in three sets.
“It was a good match, not very easy to play against Francis,” Mpetshi Perricard said.
“The first set was very tight on serve but I managed to put some pressure on his second serve and it worked.”
The 21-year-old will next play Jakub Mensik who is two years younger than him. Mensik eased his way past Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-2.
