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Mornin', everyone. Gael Monfils is in the BNP Paribas Masters final, where he'll face Novak Djokovic - and attempt to advance the robust tradition of French players punching through to take this much-valued title and the emblematic queen of all indoor events.
I was happy to see that the tournament attracted all the top players this year, and that it produced terrific match-ups - and matches. Even from a distance, Bercy had something like Grand Slam gravitas; if the Bercy script had been enacted at a major, instead of compressed into a week, everyone would feel satisfied. Ideally, the road to any big final contains plenty of twists and turns, but stops just short of degenerating into chaos that leaves us either lost or out of gas in a cul de sac.
Monfils is a perfect sort of surprise finalist, especially at this event; his performance has raised eyebrows (again) but it doesn't leave you scratching your head, wondering, How could this have happened? But who would have had the brass to predict a Parisian Monfils breakout? He's never won a Masters (or better) title, or even been to a final (he has two semi-finals losses on his record). But Frenchmen have had a solid record at Bercy, especially in recent years - Jo Wilfried Tsonga remains the defending champ until the dust settles today, and who can forget that Sebastian Grosjean, who's won only four tour-level titles, was the shock-winner here in 2001? Only four Frenchmen have won titles in Masters-Series history, and only one of them has bagged two - Guy Forget.
Monfils has his work cut out for him, because Djokovic now has a warning label pasted on his forehead: Caution: Exchanging Groundstroke With This Man May Be Hazardous to Your Health. Until yesterday, I could barely imagine Nadal losing 14 consecutive points on service (in the span during which he also dropped seven straight games). It only adds to the persistent sense of mystery surrounding Nadal - is he, will he ever be, the same player whose game hit that remarkable peak in the summer of 2008? Whose appetite for combat, determination, and courage under pressure were so persuasive?
We'll have closing statements on 2009 next week at the Barclays ATP Tour World Championship (aka Tennis Masters Cup), and Nadal's ought to be one of the more intriguing ones.As always, enjoy the final. See y'all tomorrow.**
-- Pete