Gael Monfils ended the thrilling run of Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Adelaide International to take his place in the final.
After a tight first set, Monfils showcased his gifted shot-making abilities and qualities as an entertainer, racing to a 7-5 6-0 win on Saturday night.
His victory over the Australian wildcard sets up a final between the tournament’s top two seeds; earlier in the day No.2 seed Karen Khachanov moved closer to his first title in more than three years after a breakthrough win over Marin Cilic.
Khachanov entered Saturday’s semifinal with a 0-2 head-to-head record against the No.3 seed, yet emerged with a 7-6(3) 6-3 triumph.
After years of injury struggles, Kokkinakis had enjoyed a heartwarming resurgence in his home town.
Having beaten John Millman, Frances Tiafoe and Mikael Ymer earlier in the week, he was appearing in his first ATP semifinal in four-and-a-half years.
Yet he could not hang with the world No.21, who played an incredible passing shot winner up the line to snatch the first set.
Monfils truly loosened up in the second set; producing extraordinary athleticism and court coverage to stay alive in points, he fired two more blinding winners to break a dispirited Kokkinakis for leads of 2-0 and 4-0.
Gael Monfils defended brilliantly during his semifinal victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Adelaide International. (Getty Images)
“It’s going quick (in my mind). I’m like, oh yes, I have this opportunity, and then I have like a million things I wanna do,” Monfils explained of his shot selection.
“Like, the rider? Do I wanna do the 360? Then the ball is here, and I’m closing my eyes, and next thing I know I’m jumping and I hit it. So whatever. It’s like, I just have fun.”
Kokkinakis managed to strike only nine winners past the energetic Monfils, while spraying 27 unforced errors.
Monfils will be chasing an 11th career title in his 33rd final, and has now reached a tour-level final in 18 straight years.
“It means I’ve been playing for a long time and I think it does show the passion I have for the game and hopefully I have many more this year,” he said.
“I have to be very solid (in the final). Karen is a big striker. I will have to have a great service game, hold my serve great and put a lot of pressure on him.
“Put a lot of balls back in, and make him run a little bit, and just be tough.”
🇫🇷 Allez! 🇫🇷
Monfils FINALLY breaks the Kokkinakis serve to claim the first set – and he LOVED his winning shot too! 🔥
Watch: @Channel9
Blog: https://t.co/AXTFlGX20R
Stream: https://t.co/e8QuuI0cME#9WWOS #Tennis #AdelaideInternational pic.twitter.com/Ost0Qyn6xr— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) January 8, 2022
Khachanov’s last tournament victory came at the Paris Masters in November 2018.
“The last two years I didn’t win tournaments, so for me to make it to another final, it’s very important,” said the former world No.8.
“Obviously I will fight like a dog tomorrow, and let’s see what happens.”
The second seed was forced to do similar against Cilic in the first set, which extended 69 minutes.
Khachanov saved a break point in the sixth game – the only break point either player faced in the opening set – before ultimately winning the subsequent tiebreak.
That first set proved crucial, with 29th-ranked Khachanov growing in belief and skipping out to a 5-2 lead in the second set.
He sealed victory with an ace, his sixth of the contest.
“He has big serve and forehand. His game is really uncomfortable for me,” Khachanov said of Cilic, who finished with 34 winners, twice the number of the Russian.
“He plays really fast tennis. I’m (also) playing aggressive tennis… the one who takes the lead and takes the court inside, it’s tough to recover.
“Today was really stressful (laughter). You all the time feel this pressure that if he makes hard return, you cannot step in.
“So I’m really happy that I could pull it off – the first set tiebreak was very important.”
Khachanov enters the Adelaide final with a 4-1 record in tournament deciders.
He won his first four, before losing his most recent at the Tokyo Olympics five months ago, walking away with a silver medal after going down to Alexander Zverev.
“Coming into the new season, you want to get as many matches as possible, for the preparation of Australian Open obviously, like the biggest tournament,” Khachanov said.
“I’m just happy that already I made it to the finals. Every match I step in, I play, it gives me more and more confidence.”