Monfils aces his way into Stuttgart semis

Frenchman Gael Monfils fired 17 aces in a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 quarter-final victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber which left Germany with just one title contender at the Stuttgart Open on Friday.

Monfils, seeded fourth and a former runner-up at the Weissenhof club when the event was played on clay, reached the final four on the new grass surface as the event made a date and surface change to become part of the lead-up to Wimbledon.

But Monfils will have to wait to find who out his next opponent will be as top seed Rafael Nadal takes on Australian number five Bernard Tomic.

The defeat of Kohlschreiber, who played the 2013 final, leaves Mischa Zverev as the last home hope. He will aim for a place in the semis against second-seeded US Open winner Marin Cilic.

The last time a German lifted the trophy was 1991, when Michael Stich defeated Alberto Mancini.

Monfils struck for his 10th win over Kohlschreiber against just two losses -- the German won their grasscourt semi-final in Halle in 2011 and also put out Monfils on the Stuttgart clay in 3013.

Monfils took 44 minutes to claim the opening set before his opponent levelled in the second.

The Frenchman secured an early break of serve in the third to ensure victory after just under two hours on court in temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).
Source: AFP