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  • Kohlschreiber hopes to put out Monfils' fire

    10/10/08 10:47 PM | Ricky Dimon
    - Surprising semifinalist Philipp Kohlschreiber will have his hands full against Gael Monfils on Saturday in Vienna. A spot in the title match is at stake.

    It will be the first-ever meeting between Philipp Kohlschreiber and Gael Monfils when the two men do battle in the semifinals of the Bank Austria Tennis Classic on Saturday. Kohlschreiber benefited from Juan Martin Del Potro's withdrawal earlier in the week, but now he is going to have to really earn a spot in the final.

    That's because Monfils is one of the hottest players on tour at the moment. The Frenchman reached the quarterfinals of the Olympics, the fourth round of the U.S. Open, and the semifinals in Bangkok in his past three tournaments. He dropped his first set in Vienna but then flew past Alexander Peya and on Thursday he scored an impressive blowout win over Radek Stepanek. In the quarterfinals Monfils dispatched second-seeded Fernando Gonzalez in straight sets, putting on another awesome display of surprisingly aggressive tennis. The No. 8 seed is up to 28th in the rankings and 24th in the 2008 race despite missing considerable time with injuries.

    Kohlschreiber on the other hand, has endured an extremely inconsistent 2008 campaign, especially of late. The German enjoyed the match of his life against Andy Roddick way back at the Australian Open, but he did nothing to write home about this summer. Nonetheless, he has looked good this week. In addition to his walkover second-round win over Del Potro, Kohlschreiber crushed Marc Gicquel 6-2, 6-2 and on Friday destroyed No. 5 seed Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 6-3.

    The question is whether or not Kohlschreiber can string together three consecutive stellar performances for one of the few times this season. He will have to do that just to stay competitive against Monfils, who is arguably the fastest and most athletic player in the game and can make opponents stay on the court for hours. Kohlschreiber should keep it interesting for a while, but Monfils in straight sets is the pick.

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