Djokovic narrowly beats Monfils to move on at Rogers Cup

TORONTO – World No.1 Novak Djokovic moved on to the third round of the Masters Series tournament in Toronto after a tough second round win against Frenchmen Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-2) late on Thursday CET.

Djokovic was pushed hard in his first match following his triumph at Wimbledon, but he managed to lock the door and not let Monfils, currently 22nd in the ATP rankings, upset him.

This was Djokovic’s 10th straight victory over Monfils in as many head-to-heads.

The Serb will next play another Frenchman, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who defeated his compatriot Jeremy Chardy 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 earlier last night.

Tsonga, 15th in the rankings, is down 5-13 in career matches against Djokovic.

The total prize money for the Rogers Cup is USD 3.76 million.

AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Frank Gunn