Video - The Day Djokovic Broke Monfils' Dream in the 2016 US Open Semifinals
Gaël Monfils reached two Grand Slam semifinals in his career. The Frenchman lost at the threshold of the finals at Roland Garros in 2008 against Roger Federer but had a second opportunity to reach a Major final.
At the 2016 US Open, Monfils, then 30 years old, managed to make it to the last four without dropping a single set. He eliminated Gilles Muller, Jan Satral, Nicolas Almagro, Marcos Baghdatis, and Lucas Pouille. In the semifinals, it was Novak Djokovic, the world number one, who stood in his way.
Apart from the first round where he dropped a set to Jerzy Janowicz, the Serbian was also relatively fresh physically, especially since Djokovic had been eliminated in the first round of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics against Juan Martin Del Potro.
In head-to-head confrontations, Djokovic approached this 13th matchup against the Frenchman with confidence, having led twelve victories to zero. This trend continued in this new face-off between the two men.
In a strange match where neither player seemed at their physical best, Monfils, down two sets and a break, managed to force a fourth set.
However, the Frenchman could not maintain the distance, and Djokovic pulled ahead to reach the final, his 7th at the time in New York (6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in 2h33). Despite having more winning shots than his opponent (36 to 26 for Monfils), the world number one's experience in major tournaments ultimately made the difference.
Before that, the Serb took advantage of Vesely’s walkover in the second round and the retirements of Youzhny and Tsonga. Two days later, Djokovic lost in the final against an unstoppable Stan Wawrinka (6-7, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 in 3h55), who had rediscovered his form from Roland Garros in 2015 to triumph and thus win his 3rd (and last) Grand Slam of his career.
As for Monfils, he never reached the semifinals of a Major again despite three more quarterfinal appearances. He also has not found the key to defeat Djokovic, who won all 20 of their encounters on the main circuit between 2005 and 2025.
US Open 
