Roger Federer takes on Gael Monfils at Madrid Open FREE for news on the biggest players and tournaments SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up forfor news on the biggest players and tournaments When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Roger Federer came through his return to clay against Richard Gasquet with a comfortable 6-2 6-3 victory and now faces Monfils in the round of 16. Federer is in Novak Djokovic’s side of the draw and would face him if both reach the semi-finals in Madrid. But first the battle with Monfils is on the agenda and the Frenchman is looking forward to it. “I calmly approach the match against Roger hoping for a little less wind and better conditions,” he said. Roger Federer vs Gael Monfils LIVE updates “It's fast and he likes these conditions. He is more comfortable [and] I’ll have to have a more aggressive tactic. “There will not be millions of rallies.” Federer is looking for his 1200 ATP Tour singles match victory and speaking after the Gasquet victory said: “I'm very happy to be back on clay. “Super happy to be back here in Madrid. The crowds and the ovation I got before and after the game were great. It really makes you feel like that was the right choice to come to Madrid, so that felt good. Roger Federer vs Gael Monfils: How to watch Madrid Open tennis Roger Federer takes on Gael Monfils in the last 16 in Madrid “The first game went well. I didn't think Richard was at his best, far off. But from my side, it was a good match.” Roger Federer vs Gael Monfils live stream - how to watch Roger Federer’s match against Gael Monfils is being live streamed on Amazon Prime Video. This year, Prime Video will broadcast on-site, live studio coverage across tournaments, including at the BNP Paribas Open from Indian Wells, the Fever Tree Championships from The Queens Club, the US Open, and the Nitto ATP Finals from The O2. Madrid Open: Roger Federer celebrates defeating Gasquet Trending<doc-sep>The evergreen Swiss 37-year-old did not drop a game in a dominant first set but was dragged into an intense battle by an inspired Monfils before prevailing 6-0 4-6 7-6(3). World number three Federer, playing his first tournament on clay for three years as he prepares for the French Open, surrendered the initiative after his brisk start and was in deep trouble in the third set when he trailed 4-1. ATP Belgrade Djokovic overcomes lapse to book spot in Belgrade final 11 MINUTES AGO Federer struggled with his timing on occasions in breezy, sunny conditions and swatted a ball angrily over the stands when he dropped serve at the start of the decider. But he broke back in the seventh game with a stunning sliced backhand return. Monfils earned a match point at 5-6 on the Federer serve with an ice-cool backhand pass, but Federer followed in a second serve and bounced away a smash. Federer saved another match point to set up a tiebreak and he proved unstoppable as he swept to his 1,200th match win. Austrian Dominic Thiem awaits in the next round after he beat Italian Fabio Fognini. "I think Gael did a nice job of not being frustrated losing the first set," Federer said. "I lost five games in a row and it didn't look good for a while but I hung in. There were some highly stressful moments but I mixed it up nicely." Federer's fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka, champion at Roland Garros in 2015, continued to produce some vintage form as he beat Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-3 7-6(3). World number one Novak Djokovic was untroubled as he beat Jeremy Chardy 6-1 7-6(2) to set up a clash against Marin Cilic. Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who later this month will aim for a 12th French Open, faces American Frances Tiafoe later while defending champion Alexander Zverev plays Hubert Hurkacz. World number one Djokovic was untroubled as he beat Jeremy Chardy 6-1 7-6(2) to set up a clash against Marin Cilic after the Croatian battled past Serbian Laslo Djere 4-6 6-3 6-2. Spaniard Nadal, who later this month will aim for a 12th French Open, swept past unseeded American Frances Tiafoe 6-3 6-4 while defending champion Alexander Zverev defeated Hubert Hurkacz 3-6 6-4 6-4. ATP Belgrade Djokovic powers past Coria at Belgrade Open 20 HOURS AGO<doc-sep>Madrid Open: Federer scores a victory against Gael Monfils FREE for news on the biggest players and tournaments SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up forfor news on the biggest players and tournaments When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Federer and Monfils hadn’t played each other since 2015 but the Swiss made a fast start and broke his opponent three times to lead 5-0 after just fifteen minutes and the Swiss wrapped up the set 6-0 which led to Monfils being booed by fans at the Caja Magica. Monfils responded to those jeers to break Federer early in the second set and lead 4-1 before the 20-time Grand Slam champion broke back and levelled the set 4-4. But the Frenchman broke Federer again to win the second set 6-4 and force a third set. In the final set, Federer dropped serve again and was 4-1 down before fighting back and levelling at 4-4 and he was then forced to save two match points at 6-5 down before dominating the tiebreak to seal his place in the quarter-finals. ROGER FEDERER VS GAEL MONFILS LIVE THIRD SET Federer 6-0 4-6 7-6 Monfils TIEBREAK Monfils double fault, 1-0. Monfils return long, 2-0. Federer unreturned serve, 3-0. Federer backhand long, 3-1. Monfils backhand wide after great Federer defence, 4-1. Federer serve and volley, 5-1. Federer volley winner, 6-1. Monfils backhand winner, 6-2. Federer backhand wide, 6-3. Federer unreturned serve GAME. SET. MATCH. Brilliant tennis match. *Federer 6-0 4-6 6-6 Monfils Federer goes wide with a forehand, 0-15. But then gets it done with a forehand winner into the corner. Federer goes wide with another forehand, 15-30. Federer serve and volley, 30-30. Monfils backhand pass, match point. Federer smash winner at the net, gusty play from the Swiss, deuce. Federer nets a tame backhand, second match point. Monfils backhand long, deuce. Monfils backhand return long. But Federer responds with a forehand long, deuce. Monfils just misses with a backhand pass. Federer forehand winner. TIEBREAK! Federer 6-0 4-6 5-6 Monfils* Like a world-class surgeon, Federer slices another backhand down the line past Monfils. Beautiful. Double fault Monfils, 30-30. Break point Federer as he guesses the right way and flicks a backhand up the line. Federer return long, deuce. Big time tennis from Monfils as he wrong foots Federer with some big forehands and guarantees at least a tiebreak. *Federer 6-0 4-6 5-5 Monfils Pressure? What pressure! Federer holds to 15 in no time at all. He's in attack mode right now. Federer 6-0 4-6 4-5 Monfils* Federer smash winner, 15-15. Monfils double fault, 15-30. Monfils ace, 30-all. Another Monfils ace! Another Monfils double fault! Deuce. A fired up Monfils screams 'Allez' as he gets through to force Federer to serve to stay in the match. Roger Federer beat Gael Monfils in three sets Roger Federer hits a forehand against Gael Monfils *Federer 6-0 4-6 4-4 Monfils Federer is flowing now and he's won 12 of the last 15 points. Dramatic finish to this match coming up. Federer 6-0 4-6 3-4 Monfils* Blistering forehand winner from Federer to open the game but he then goes long with a backhand, 15-15. A lengthy exchange ends with a Federer error, 30-30. Break point Federer as Monfils nets a backhand. Lovely from Federer as he slices a return down the line as Monfils attempted to serve and volley. Big fist shake from Federer. Back on serve. *Federer 6-0 4-6 2-4 Monfils Love hold for Federer. Normal service resumes. But he needs to make move quickly. Federer 6-0 4-6 1-4 Monfils* Lovely serve and volley from Monfils, 40-15. But Federer forces Monfils to deuce with some excellent backhands. Monfils ace, great response. And another big serve extracts a return error from Federer. The match is on Monfils' racket right now. *Federer 6-0 4-6 1-3 Monfils Important hold for Federer, just to stop Monfils momentum. The Swiss is unhappy with the shade at the far end of the court. Federer 6-0 4-6 0-3 Monfils* Break back chance for Federer as Monfils goes wide with a backhand up the line. But the Swiss nets a forehand, deuce. Monfils moves into full control of the set when Federer puts a backhand return long. Gael Monfils won the second set 6-4 *Federer 6-0 4-6 0-2 Monfils A chance for Monfils as Federer goes wide with a forehand, 15-30. And another unforced error hands Monfils break point. And the Frenchman gets ahead after Federer puts a backhand long. Federer then smashes the ball out of the stadium and receives a code violation. Incredible. Federer 6-0 4-6 0-1 Monfils* Monfils opens the third set with a hold to 15. The Frenchman looks strong at the moment. SECOND SET *Federer 6-0 4-6 Monfils Danger for Federer as a forehand goes long, 15-30. And Federer then goes wide with a forehand. Two set points Monfils. Federer saves the first with a forehand winner. Federer goes long with a forehand and this match is going into a decider. Stunning turnaround. Federer 6-0 4-5 Monfils* Monfils stops a run of eight points in a row when he forces the error from Federer, 15-15. But he then goes wide with a backhand, 15-30. Break point Federer as he runs around and whips a forehand into the corner. Brave serve and volley from Monfils gets him back level. And he finally comes through after seven minutes to force Federer to serve to stay in the set. *Federer 6-0 4-4 Monfils Federer back on top as he holds to love. Monfils looking demoralised again. Roger Federer won the first set 6-0 Federer 6-0 3-4 Monfils* Monfils goes long with a backhand, deuce. And he then nets a forehand to give Federer a break point. Monfils ace, deuce. But he nets another forehand, break point Federer. But brilliant length on the forehand cancels out Federer’s hopes. Monfils double fault, third break point.<doc-sep>The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>
World no. 3 and three-time Madrid champion Roger Federer is through to the quarter-final in Madrid after a thrilling 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 triumph over Gael Monfils in two hours, saving two match points in the 12th game of the deciding set. This was the 376th Masters 1000 win for Roger and the tenth in 14 clashes against Gael, overcoming a slow start of the final set and standing strong on those match points to cross the finish line first in his first ATP tournament on clay since Rome 2016. Roger grabbed almost 20 points more than his rival but still walked on the edge of defeat in the closing moments, doing everything right in the opening set and having to work much harder in the remaining two sets. The Swiss delivered 33 winners and 25 unforced errors, dominating in the shortest and mid-range rallies to forge the victory and set another entertaining clash versus Dominic Thiem. Federer produced fury in the opening set, losing nine points in total and fending off both break points he faced to keep the pressure on the other side of the net. Gael never looked like a dangerous rival, winning just five points on serve and finding himself 6-0 down after embarrassing 18 minutes. Roger broke in the very first game of the match when Gael hit a backhand long and repelled those two break points in the next game to confirm the break and cement the lead. The Swiss broke at 15 to forge a 3-0 advantage after a volley error from the Frenchman, moving 4-0 up with a service winner and scoring the third straight break after a backhand error from Gael who probably wanted to run far away from the court in those moments, with nothing to fire up his shots. Serving for the set, the Swiss landed three service winners for a 6-0 in 18 minutes, looking good to seal the deal in no time at all. Out of sudden, Monfils found his range at the beginning of the second set, producing a much-needed hold in the first game and breaking Roger at 15 with a forehand winner in game two to move ahead for the first time. Federer broke back in game seven after a double fault from the Frenchman and had another break point at 4-4 that could have secured the triumph for him. Keeping his focus on a high level, Monfils erased it with a volley winner, making another push on the return in game ten when he grabbed a crucial break for a 6-4 after a loose forehand from the Swiss. Carried by this momentum, Gael broke in the second game of the decider, saving a break point in the next game to race into a 3-0 lead and increasing his chances of toppling a great rival and making the season an even better one. Roger delivered some of his old magic to pull the break back with a backhand slice return winner, creating another break point at 5-5. Gael saved it and brought the game home with two excellent points, staying ahead and sending the pressure back to the other side. Federer felt it big time, saving two match points with well-constructed attacks to send the encounter into a deciding tie break that Roger won 7-2 after service winner to seal the deal and move into the quarters.