Long layoff finally catches up to Roger Federer
— -- Even at 5-all in the third with no breaks of serve in that tight set, Roger Federer blinked and was broken. At his most critical moment of his quarterfinal match with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, clearly even a consummate pro like Federer can do nothing about the fact that no amount of practice, no matter how intense, can prepare a player for the pressure and stress of competition.
Taking full advantage, No. 8 seed Tsonga calmly served out the match to reach the Monte Carlo Masters semifinals 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.
But it would be a mistake to make this result all about the 34-year-old all-time Grand Slam champion, who missed two months of action after the Australian Open. Tsonga, 30, has demonstrated he has the game and confidence to steamroll through Federer as far back as 2011.
The two men met an astonishing eight times that year. The most memorable of those was a Wimbledon quarterfinal in which Tsonga improbably rebounded from a two-sets-to-none deficit to win. Until then, Federer still had Tsonga in a psychological headlock. While the Swiss still leads the overall head-to-head 11-6, Tsonga is 4-3 since the start of 2012 (that includes a walkover for Tsonga in Doha at the onset of 2013).
Tsonga's combination of raw power and athleticism is enough to intimidate anyone. Federer probably sees a fair amount of himself in Tsonga, and that alone levels the playing field every time they meet.
Whatever Federer's expectations were coming into Monaco, he has to leave feeling disappointed. Top-ranked Novak Djokovic was conveniently shunted aside at the start of the week. What looked like a rough road to the title for Federer (a semi against Djokovic) suddenly resembled an open highway with no speed limit until he ran into Tsonga.
So no Federer or Djokovic, but we're still in store for a competitive semifinal day in Monte Carlo:
Andy Murray versus Rafael Nadal (Nadal leads, 16-6)
The lug nuts were coming off the wheels of both of these men in the third round. Murray somehow survived a comedy of errors against Benoit Paire, while Nadal offered up 16 break points to Dominic Thiem in the first set of their match -- and still won in straight sets.
Both men atoned for their shortcomings in the quarterfinals, logging impressive wins against quality players Friday. Murray dialed in his return and whaled away at the deliveries of one of the most dangerous servers in the game in Milos Raonic, winning 6-2, 6-0.
"The serve and the return were the best they've been in a while," Murray told Sky Sports after the match. "I'm glad because they haven't been so strong over the last couple of matches."
Those shots will need to be strong against Nadal, who seems to be drawing inspiration from treading the red clay on which he's enjoyed so much success. The Spaniard took apart last year's French Open champ Stan Wawrinka 6-1, 6-4.
Wawrinka looked sluggish from the start. He was distracted by the clink of silver and laughter of the swells having lunch in the clubhouse while he was struggling on the court below. The Swiss even incurred a first-set code violation for breaking a racket over his shin.
It was altogether a lousy day for Wawrinka, while Nadal showed flashes of his old "King of Clay" self. He moved better than in his previous matches, and his shots had more authority and penetration. Most importantly, Nadal managed his service games expertly, allowing Wawrinka just a single break point.
Have Nadal and Murray worked out their games? If so, this could be a spectacular semifinal -- and a key stepping stone for both men in 2016.
No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga versus No. 13 Gael Monfils (Tsonga leads the H2H, 5-2)
Whatever the final score, this battle of fabulous Frenchmen promises to be a terrific show. These are two of the most entertaining players in the men's game. Tsonga likes to trade on his resemblance of Muhammad Ali and play a heavy, hard-hitting game, while Monfils seems content to reprise the role of an impish street urchin performing the sporting equivalent of magic tricks.
The men haven't played since Miami a little more than a year ago, where Monfils won in two close sets. Given his natural inclination to play defense and counterpunch, the key probably will be how well Tsonga serves and how effectively he dictates the nature of the rallies.
Monfils won 75 percent of his second-serve points in his quarterfinal win against No. 67 and lucky loser Marcel Granollers and converted four of five break points. Monfils appears to be on the rise again. If he can turn this into a track meet, he has a great chance.
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