Djokovic dominant as Monfils lies in wait

GAEL MONFILS yesterday reached the quarter-finals of the US Open for the first time in his career, where he will play a Novak Djokovic running ominously into form.

Monfils beat fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-4 7-5 7-5 in two hours and 35 minutes, Gasquet missing several great chances to take the match into at least a fourth set.

And Djokovic was also a winner in straight sets, the Serbian third seed enjoying a surprisingly easy victory over American Mardy Fish.

Fish has been in excellent form during the US hard court circuit but Djokovic was always in command as he eased to a 6-3 6-4 6-1 win in just one hour and 50 minutes.

“I was serving well and using the court well and overall I am very happy with the way I played,” said Djokovic, who came from two sets to one down against Davis Cup team-mate Viktor Troicki in the first round but has not dropped a set since.

“It gives me a lot of confidence. It’s great to raise the level of performance towards the end of the tournament. It’s been a great couple of years for me in New York (runner-up in 2007, semi-finalist the last two years), so hopefully I can go on.”

Speaking about his win over Gasquet, 17th seed Monfils said: “It’s not that easy to play when we are very good friends. He played very good today. I was a little better than him but I hope we will have more matches like this.

“For me it’s amazing to be in the quarter-finals. I love playing here, I feel comfortable and I hope I can win here one day maybe.”