BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells

[11] Gael Monfils (FRA) vs. [22] John Isner (USA)

They were tied at 4:4 going into this match and anything was possible; however, they had not played in three years and a lot has changed.  Monfils seemed to have found renewed motivation and was rewarded with ending last season ranked in the top 10 for the first time in his career.  Isner on the other hand had a rocky 2016 and it has continued into the 2017 season, so far.  He was the number one American player for years and that honor now belongs to Jack Sock.

Isner was never the greatest mover, but he was able to navigate his way to victory with his consistent serving and quality volleys.  Lately that has not been the case and he is struggling with his confidence as a result.  He has been battling with left knee issues for a couple of years and that has decreased his mobility even further and may have also contributed to the decrease in his consistency on serve. He came out flat last night and against a dangerous player like Monfils, that was disastrous.  Monfils broke him twice to win the first set 6-2.

Isner could have turned this match around if Monfils had a dip in his level of play, but Monfils was focused last night and was not willing to concede his advantage.  Although it was a much better contested second set from Isner, he lost his focus briefly, was broken and never recovered.  Monfils never had a break point against him the entire match.  He won 6-2, 6-4.  Why can’t Monfils play at this high level consistently day in and day out?  If he did, perhaps he would have won a couple of Majors by now.

SOURCE OF IMAGE: Zimbio