Monfils weathers Aus Open storm to advance

No.6 seed Gael Monfils is through to the third round of the Australian Open after overcoming Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov in an entertaining four-set encounter.

The athletic Frenchman lost his way in the third set on Thursday when Dolgopolov mounted a stirring fightback, but soon regained his rhythm to score a 6-3 6-4 1-6 6-0 win on Hisense Arena.

Dolgopolov, a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open in 2011, was near-unstoppable as he raced away with the third, but Monfils was confident he just had to weather the storm.

“He surprised me in the first game of the third and he kept going, playing deep and fast,” Monfils said.

“But I wasn’t worried so much because I knew that he can be like this for 20 minutes but it would be tough for him to keep going and making those shots.

“I put a bit more pressure on him in the fourth set and it was good.

“Sometimes, it’s tough but it was good. I came here with great confidence, I feel great and my tennis is there.

“It’s so much easier to finish when you feel good.”

Monfils, who reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open last year, will meet 32nd seed Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round, the German accounting for American Donald Young in straight sets.

“It’s going to be a good one … Philipp is a tough player,” Monfils said.

“He always makes me work, tries to make me play a lot of balls.

“He tries to be aggressive and come to the net so I need to serve great. We’ve had some tough battles and I know he can be very dangerous.”

Monfils holds a 12-2 head-to-head advantage against Kohlschreiber, with the German’s two victories coming on grass.

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