Baseline Awards: The strangest match

If you had just gotten waylaid like this a few weeks ago…

And for years, had lost every match you and your opponent played in venues around the world, including a couple in front of your home crowd…

Wouldn’t you figure you had nothing to lose in your next encounter?

Apparently, that must have been what Gael Monfils was thinking in the US Open semifinals this year in his match against Novak Djokovic, who led their head-to-heads by a resounding 12-0.

After Djokovic came out of the gates firing on all cylinders to take a 5-0 lead in the first set, Monfils nearly got it back on serve before Djokovic closed it out. The second was all Djokovic as it looked like Monfils turned it down—or rather, sideways—a notch. When he wasn’t giving the appearance of quitting on a point, he was charging the net after returns and going for winners.

There were medical timeouts; Monfils ordered a soda, despite the stifling humidity. It was just an all-around oddity. After Monfils somehow managed to win the third set, there was the shirt rip for the ages:

Djokovic managed to right the ship, winning in four sets. Post-match, Monfils was forced to defend his actions, amid a wave of criticism.

But what would you do if you were looking at an unlucky 13 losses in a row?

Strange times, indeed.